KEADKB  l; 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 


Class 


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g>tantrar&  ILibrarp  Litton 


AMERICAN   STATESMEN 


JOHN  T.  MORSE,  JR. 

IN  THIRTY-TWO  VOLUMES 
VOL.  I. 


THE  REVOLUTIONARY  PERIOD 
BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 


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stanbae::;  ltbhaet  ez: 


^u^/efawztfarics/  .jtuL/cs.  ^/u/as/tY'iAcai/776' 


HOUG  .  '      FFLIN    &.  CO. 


Slmttitm  Statesmen 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 


BY 


JOHN  T.  MORSE,  JR. 


£ 


BOSTON   AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 

Cbe  firbersitir  press,  £ambnDrj£ 


F5ADB1G  ROOM 

/I1 


33/y 


Copyright,  1889  and  1898. 
By  JOHN  T.  MORSE,  JR. 

Copyright,  1898, 
By  HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &   CO. 

All  rights  reserved. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

The  editor  has  often  been  asked :  "  Upon  what 
principle  have  you.  constructed  this  series  of  lives 
of  American  statesmen  ?  "  The  query  has  always 
been  civil  in  form,  while  in  substance  it  has  often 
implied  that  the  "  principle,"  as  to  which  inquiry 
is  made,  has  been  undiscoverable  by  the  interro- 
gator. Other  queries,  like  pendants,  have  also 
come :  Why  have  you  not  included  A,  or  B,  or 
C  ?  The  inference  from  these  is  that  the  querist 
conceives  A,  or  B,  or  C  to  be  statesmen  certainly 
not  less  eminent  than  E,  or  F,  or  G,  whose  names 
he  sees  upon  the  list.  '  Now  there  really  has  been 
a  principle  of  selection ;  but  it  has  not  been  a 
mathematical  principle,  whereby  the  several  states- 
men of  the  country  have  been  brought  to  the 
measuring-pole,  like  horses,  and  those  of  a  certain 
height  have  been  accepted,  and  those  not  seeming 
to  reach  that  height  have  been  rejected.  The 
principle  has  been  to  make  such  a  list  of  men  in 
public  life  that  the  aggregation  of  all  their  biogra- 
phies would  give,  in  this  personal  shape,  the  history 
and  the  picture  of  the  growth  and  development 
of  the  United  States  from  the  beginning  of  that 


295825 


vi  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

agitation  which  led  to  the  Eevolution  until  the 
completion  of  that  solidarity  which  we  believe  has 
resulted  from  the  civil  war  and  the  subsequent 
reconstruction.   / 

In  illustration,  let  me  speak  of  a  few  volumes. 
Patrick  Henry  was  hardly  a  great  statesman ;  but, 
apart  from  the  prestige  and  romance  which  his 
eloquence  has  thrown  about  his  memory,  he  fur- 
nished the  best  opportunity  for  drawing  a  picture 
of  the  South  in  the  period  preceding  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  for  showing  why  and  how  the  southern 
colonies,  among  whom  Virginia  was  easily  the 
leader,  became  sharers  in  the  strife. 

Benton  might  possibly  have  been  included  upon 
his  own  merits.  But  if  there  were  any  doubt 
upon  this  point,  or  if  including  him  would  seem  to 
have  rendered  it  proper  to  include  others  equally 
eminent  and  yet  omitted,  the  reply  is  that  Benton 
serves  the  important  purpose  of  giving  the  best 
available  opportunity  to  sketch  the  character  of  the 
Southwest,  and  the  political  feeling  and  develop- 
ment in  that  section  of  the  country. 

In  like  manner,  Cass  was  hardly  a  great  states- 
man, although  very  active  and  prominent  for  a 
long  period.  But  the  Northwest  —  or  what  used 
to  be  the  Northwest  not  so  very  long  ago  —  comes 
out  of  the  wilderness  and  into  the  domain  of  civ- 
ilization in  the  life  of  Cass. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION  vii 

John  Randolph,  erratic  and  bizarre,  was  not 
justly  entitled  to  rank  among  great  statesmen. 
But  the  characteristics  of  Congress,  as  a  body,  can 
be  brought  into  better  relief  in  the  narrative  of  his 
life  than  in  that  of  any  other  person  of  his  day. 
These  characteristics  were  so  striking,  so  essential 
to  an  understanding  of  the  history  of  those  times, 
and  so  utterly  different  from  the  habits  and  ways 
of  our  own  era,  that  an  opportunity  to  present 
them  must  have  been  forced  if  Randolph  had  not 
fortunately  offered  it. 

These  four  volumes  are  mentioned  by  way  of 
illustration  of  the  plan  of  the  series  in  some  of 
its  less  obvious  purposes.  By  the  light  of  the 
suggestions  thus  afforded,  readers  will  probably  see 
for  themselves  the  motives  which  have  led  to  the 
presence  of  other  volumes.  But  one  further  state- 
ment should  be  made.  It  has  been  the  editor's 
intention  to  deal  with  the  advancement  of  the 
country.  When  the  people  have  moved  steadily 
along  any  road,  the  men  who  have  led  them  on 
that  road  have  been  selected  as  subjects.  When 
the  people  have  refused  to  enter  upon  a  road,  or, 
having  entered,  have  soon  turned  back  from  it,  the 
leaders  upon  such  inchoate  or  abandoned  excur- 
sions have  for  the  most  part  been  rejected.  Those 
who  have  been  exponents  of  ideas  and  principles 
which  have  entered  into  the  progress  and  have 


viii  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

developed  in  a  positive  way  the  history  of  the 
nation  have  been  chosen ;  those  who  have  unfortu- 
nately linked  themselves  with  rejected  ideas  and 
principles  have  themselves  also  been  rejected.  Cal- 
houn has  been  made  an  exception  to  this  rule,  for 
reasons  so  obvious  that  they  need  not  be  rehearsed. 
A  Series  of  Great  Failures  presents  fine  oppor- 
tunities, which  will  some  day  attract  some  enter- 
prising editor;  but  that  is  not  the  undertaking 
here  in  hand.  If  the  men  who  guided  and  the  men 
who  failed  to  guide  the  movement  and  progress  of 
the  country  were  to  stand  side  by  side  in  this  series 
its  size  would  be  increased  by  at  least  one  third, 
but  probably  not  so  its  value.  Yet  the  failures 
have  held  out  some  temptations  which  it  has  been 
difficult  to  resist.  For  example,  there  was  Gov- 
ernor Hutchinson,  whose  life  has  since  been  written 
by  the  same  gentleman  who  in  this  series  has 
admirably  presented  his  great  antagonist,  Samuel 
Adams.  There  was  much  to  be  said  in  favor  of 
setting  the  two  portraits,  done  by  the  same  hand, 
side  by  side.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
cause  for  the  disaffected  colonists  is  argued  by  the 
writers  in  this  series  in  the  old-fashioned  way,  — 
that  is  to  say,  upon  the  fundamental  theory  that 
Great  Britain  was  foully  wrong  and  her  cis- Atlantic 
subjects  nobly  right.  A  life  of  Hutchinson  would 
have  furnished  an  opportunity  for  showing  that,  as 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION  ix 

an  unmodified  proposition,  this  is  very  far  from 
being  correct.  The  time  has  come  when  efforts  to 
state  the  quarrel  fairly  for  both  parties  are  not 
altogether  refused  a  hearing  in  the  United  States. 
Nevertheless  the  admission  of  Hutchinson  for  this 
purpose  would  have  entailed  too  many  conse- 
quences. The  colonists  did  secede  and  did  estab- 
lish independence ;  their  action  and  their  success 
constitute  the  history  of  the  country;  and  the 
leaders  of  their  movement  are  the  persons  whose 
portraits  are  properly  hung  in  this  gallery.  The 
obstructionists,  leaders  of  the  defeated  party,  who 
failed  to  control  our  national  destiny,  must  find 
room  elsewhere.  In  the  same  way,  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  has  been  left  outside  the  door.  Able, 
distinguished,  influential,  it  was  yet  his  misfortune 
to  represent  ideas  and  policies  which  the  people 
decisively  condemned.  Sufficient  knowledge  of 
these  ideas  and  policies  is  obtained  from  the  lives 
of  those  who  opposed  and  triumphed  over  them. 
The  history  of  non-success  needs  not  the  elaborate 
presentation  of  a  biography  of  the  defeated  leader 
in  a  series  of  statesmen.  The  work  of  Douglas  was 
discredited ;  it  does  not  remain  as  an  active  sur- 
viving influence,  or  as  an  integral  part  amid  our 
modern  conditions.  Andrew  Johnson,  also,  fur- 
nished such  an  admirable  opportunity  for  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject  of  reconstruction  that  some 


x  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

persons  have  thought  that  he  should  have  found 
a  place.  But  this  was  impossible  unless  he  were 
absolutely  necessary  for  this  especial  purpose ;  and 
fortunately  he  was  not  so,  since  the  work  could  be 
done  in  the  lives  of  Seward  and  Stevens  and  Sum- 
ner. Then,  if  one  were  willing  to  contribute  to  the 
immortality  of  a  scoundrel,  there  was  Aaron  Burr ; 
but  large  as  was  the  part  which  he  played  for  a 
while  in  American  politics,  and  near  as  it  came  to 
being  very  much  larger,  the  presence  of  his  name 
would  have  been  a  degradation  of  the  series. 
Moreover  his  career  was  strictly  selfish  and  per- 
sonal; he  led  no  party,  represented  no  idea,  and 
left  no  permanent  trace.  There  was  also  William 
H.  Crawford,  who  narrowly  missed  being  Presi- 
dent, and  who  was  a  greater  man  than  many  of 
the  Presidents  ;  but  he  did  miss,  and  he  died,  and 
there  was  an  end  of  him.  There  was  Buchanan 
also ;  intellectually  he  had  the  making  of  a  states- 
man ;  but  his  wrong-headed  blundering  is  suffi- 
ciently depicted  for  the  purposes  of  this  series  by 
the  lives  of  those  who  foiled  him. 

These  names,  again,  are  mentioned  only  as  indi- 
cations of  the  scheme,  as  explaining  some  exclu- 
sions. There  are  other  exclusions,  which  have 
been  made,  not  because  the  individuals  were  not 
men  of  note,  but  because  it  seemed  that  the  story 
of  their  lives  would  fill  no  hiatus  among  the  vol- 
umes of  the  completed  series. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION  jrf 

The  editor  cannot  expect  every  one  to  agree  with 
him  in  the  selection  which  he  has  made.  We  all 
have  our  favorites  in  past  history  as  well  as  in 
modern  politics,  and  few  lists  would  precisely  dupli- 
cate each  other.  So  the  only  thing  which  would 
seriously  afflict  the  editor  with  a  sense  of  having 
made  a  bad  blunder  would  be,  if  some  one  should 
detect  a  really  gaping  chasm,  a  neglect  to  treat 
somewhere  among  the  lives  some  important  item 
of  our  national  history  falling  within  the  period 
which  the  series  is  designed  to  cover. 

The  whole  series  naturally  shapes  itself,  in  a 
somewhat  crude  and  rough  way  to  be  sure,  yet  by 
virtue  of  substantial  lines  of  division,  into  a  few 
sub-series  or  groups.  The  first  of  these  belongs  to 
the  Revolutionary  period,  what  may  be  called  the 
destructive  period,  since  it  witnessed  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  long-established  political  conditions. 
In  this  group  we  find  the  leaders  of  the  disaffection 
and  revolt :  Benjamin  Franklin,  Samuel  Adams, 
Patrick  Henry,  and  George  Washington.  Wash- 
ington, of  course,  might  properly  find  a  place  also 
in  the  second  group  ;  but  for  the  purposes  of  sepa- 
ration he  is  by  preference  placed  in  the  first  one, 
because  the  Revolution  was  to  so  great  an  extent 
his  own  personal  achievement,  his  transcendent  and 
crowning  glory. 

The  second  group,  constituting  the  constructive 


xu  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

period,  comprises  the  men  who  were  foremost  in 
framing  the  Constitution,  and  in  organizing  and 
giving  coherence  and  life  to  the  new  government 
and  to  the  nationality  thereby  created.  This  is 
introduced  by  John  Adams.  He,  like  Washington, 
might  properly  find  a  place  in  both  the  first  and 
the  second  groups,  but  the  distinction  of  the  presi- 
dential office  brings  him  with  sufficient  propriety 
into  the  second.  The  others  in  this  group  are 
Alexander  Hamilton,  Gouverneur  Morris,  John 
Jay,  and  John  Marshall. 

The  third  group  follows  the  overthrow  of  Feder- 
alism with  its  theory  of  a  strongly  centralized  gov- 
ernment. This,  of  course,  begins  with  Thomas 
Jefferson,  who  led  and  organized  the  new  party  of 
the  democracy.  He  is  followed  by  his  political 
disciple,  James  Madison ;  by  their  secretary  of  the 
treasury,  Albert  Gallatin ;  and  by  James  Monroe, 
John  Quincy  Adams,  and  John  Randolph.  The 
two  last  named  are  hardly  to  be  called  Jefferso- 
nians,  but  they  mark  the  passage  of  the  nation 
from  the  statesmanship  of  Jefferson  to  the  widely 
different  democracy  of  Jackson. 

The  fourth  group  witnesses  the  absorption  of  the 
nation  in  questions  of  domestic  policy.  The  crude 
and  rough  domination  of  Andrew  Jackson  opened 
a  new  order  of  things.  Men's  minds  were  busied 
with  affairs  at  home,  at  first  more  especially  with 


EDITOR'S   INTRODUCTION  xiii 

the  tariff,  then  more  and  more  exclusively  with  sla- 
very. This  group,  besides  Jackson,  includes  Mar- 
tin Van  Buren,  Henry  Clay,  Daniel  Webster,  John 
C.  Calhoun,  Thomas  H.  Benton,  and  Lewis  Cass. 

The  fifth  and  closing  group  is  that  of  the  civil 
war.  This  of  course  opens  with  Abraham  Lincoln. 
The  others  are  William  H.  Seward,  as  being  a  sort 
of  prime  minister  throughout  the  period ;  Salmon 
P.  Chase,  in  whose  life  can  properly  be  discussed 
the  financial  policy  and  the  principal  legal  matters ; 
Charles  Francis  Adams,  embodying  the  important 
topic  of  diplomatic  relations ;  Charles  Sumner, 
representing  the  advanced  abolitionist  element ; 
and  Thaddeus  Stevens,  who  appears  as  a  tribune, 
perhaps  we  may  say  the  leader,  in  the  popular 
branch  of  Congress. 

Almost  inevitably  the  series  begins  with  Benja- 
min Franklin,  the  first  great  American,  the  first 
man  born  on  this  side  of  the  water  who  was  "  meant 
for  the  universe."  His  mere  existence  was  a  sort 
of  omen.  It  was  absurd  to  suppose  that  a  people 
which  could  produce  a  man  of  that  scope,  in  char- 
acter and  intellect,  could  long  remain  in  a  condi- 
tion of  political  dependence.  It  would  have  been 
preposterous  to  have  had  Franklin  die  a  colonist, 
and  go  down  to  posterity,  not  as  an  American,  but 
as  a  colonial  Englishman.  He  was  a  microcosm 
of   the  coming  nation  of   the  United  States ;   all 


xir  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

the  better  moral  and  intellectual  qualities  of  our 
people  existed  in  him,  save  only  the  dreamy  philo- 
sophy of  the  famous  New  England  school  of  think- 
ers. It  is  very  interesting  to  see  how  slowly  and 
reluctantly,  yet  how  surely  and  decisively,  he  came 
to  the  point  of  resistance  and  independence.  He 
was  not  like  so  many,  who  were  unstable  and  shift- 
ing. There  was  no  backward  step,  though  there 
were  many  painful  and  unwilling  forward  ones  in 
his  progress.  One  feels  almost  as  if  an  apology 
were  needed  for  writing  another  life  of  a  man  so 
be-written.  Yet  there  is  some  reason  for  doing 
so ;  the  chapter  concerning  his  services  in  France 
during  the  Revolution  presents  the  true  facts  and 
the  magnitude  of  his  usefulness  more  carefully 
than,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  it  has  previously  been 
done. 

As  a  promoter  of  the  Revolution,  Samuel  Adams 
has  easily  the  most  conspicuous  place.  He  was  an 
agitator  to  the  very  centre  of  his  marrow.  He  was 
the  incarnation  of  New  England ;  to  know  thor- 
oughly his  career  is  to  know  the  Massachusetts  of 
that  day  as  an  anatomist  knows  the  human  frame. 
The  man  of  the  town  meeting  did  more  to  kindle 
the  Revolution  than  any  other  one  person.  Many 
stood  with  him,  but  his  life  tells  the  story  and 
presents  the  picture.  The  like  service  is  done  for 
Virginia  by  Patrick  Henry ;  and  the  contrast  be- 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION  xv 

tween  the  two  men  is  most  striking  and  pictur- 
esque, yet  not  more  so  than  the  difference  between 
the  two  sections  of  the  country  to  which  they  re- 
spectively belonged. 

If  John  Adams  had  died  before  he  was  made 
President,  he  also  would  have  been  one  of  this 
group.  But  the  lustre  of  his  official  position  pre- 
vents our  placing  him  in  the  earlier  constellation. 
Yet,  though  not  more  prominent  than  many  others, 
in  fact  hardly  to  be  called  prominent  at  all  in  the 
events  which  led  up  to  the  Revolution,  he  became 
a  leader  in  the  first  Congress,  and  it  is  probable 
that  no  one  contributed  more  than  he  did  —  possi- 
bly no  one  contributed  so  much  —  towards  forcing 
the  adoption  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Washington,  though  a  member  of  Congress,  was 
by  no  means  conspicuous  in  the  agitation  which 
preceded  the  actual  outbreak  of  hostilities.  His 
entry  in  his  uniform  among  his  civilian  comrades 
was  indeed  dramatic;  but  his  important  public 
career  really  began  with  his  acceptance  of  the  posi- 
tion of  commander  in  chief.  In  this  capacity  he 
achieved  the  overthrow  of  the  British  supremacy, 
and  brought  to  a  successful  close  the  period  of 
destruction. 

This  first  group  is  a  small  one,  for  the  first  Con- 
gress brought  no  new  men  to  the  front.  Indeed, 
that  body  lost  its  own  prestige  very  soon  after  inde- 


xvi  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

pendence  was  declared  ;  thereafter  it  was  no  stage 
on  which  new  men  could  win  distinction,  or  men 
already  famous  could  add  to  their  store ;  indeed, 
members  were  lucky  if  they  escaped  without  dimi- 
nution of  their  reputations,  by  very  reason  of  being 
parts  of  so  nerveless  and  useless  a  body.  The  fact 
is,  that  the  civilians,  after  they  had  set  the  ball 
going,  did  little  more.  They  contributed  almost 
nothing  to  the  Revolution  in  any  practical  way 
during  its  actual  progress.  Perhaps  they  could 
not ;  but  certainly  they  did  not.  Washington  and 
his  officers  and  soldiers  deserve  all  the  credit  for 
making  independence  a  reality  instead  of  an  as- 
sertion. They  were  not  very  strenuously  or  gener- 
ously backed  by  the  mass  of  the  people  after  the 
first  fervor  was  over.  The  truth  is  that  that  grand 
event  was  the  work  of  a  small  body  of  heroes,  who 
presented  freedom  and  nationality  to  the  people  of 
the  thirteen  colonies.  John  Adams  and  Congress 
said  that  the  colonists  were  free,  and  there  left  the 
matter,  fundi  officio.  Washington  and  the  troops 
took  up  the  business,  and  actually  made  colonists 
into  freemen.  Those  upon  whom  this  dignity  and 
advantage  were  conferred  were,  for  the  most  part, 
content  somewhat  supinely  to  allow  the  new  con- 
dition to  be  established  for  them. 

JOHN  T.  MORSE,  JR. 

September,  1898. 


CONTENTS 

PAGHE 

I.  Early  Years 1 

v   II.  A  Citizen  of  Philadelphia:    Concernment  in 

Public  Affairs       .        .        .        ...  17 

HE.  Representative  of  Pennsylvania  in  England  : 

Return  Home 59 

IV.  Life  in  Philadelphia 86 

V.  Second  Mission  to  England:    I.  ...     100 

VI.  Second  Mission  to  England:  II.     .        .        .        142 
VII.  Second  Mission  to  England  :   III.     The  Hutch- 
inson Letters:   The  Privy  Council  Scene; 

Return  Home 177 

VIII.  Services  in  the  States 204 

IX.   Minister  to  France  :   I.     Deane  and  Beaumar- 

chais:  Foreign  Officers  ....    220 

X.  Minister  to  France  :   II.    Prisoners  :   Trouble 

with  Lee  and  others 248 

XI.  Minister  to  France  :  III.  Treaty  with  France  : 

More  Quarrels 267 

XII.   Financiering 304 

JQII.   Habits  of  Life  and  of  Business:   an  Adams 

Incident       .  337 

XIV.  Peace  Negotiations:   Last  Years  in  France      357 
XV.   At  Home  :   President  of  Pennsylvania  :   The 

Constitutional  Convention:    Death  .        .        403 
Index 429 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Benjamin  Franklin Frontispiece 

From  the  original  by  Jean  Baptiste  Greuze,  in  the 
Boston  Public  Library.  It  was  painted  for  Benjamin 
Franklin  as  a  gift  to  Richard  Oswald,  the  English  com- 
missioner associated  with  him  in  the  peace  negotiations 
of  1782.  Gardner  Brewer  of  Boston  bought  the  painting 
in  1872  and  presented  ,it  to  the  Library. 

Autograph  from  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

The  vignette  of  Independence  Hall  is  after  a  drawing 
in  the  possession  of  the  American  Bank  Note  Co.,  Phila- 
delphia. Page 
Count  Vergennes facing    84 

From  the  frontispiece  to  Doniol,  "  Histoire  de  la  Par' 
ticipation  de  la  France  a  l'Establissement  des  Etats- 
Unis  d'Amerique,"  Paris,  1886,  5  vols.,  4to,  vol.  i. ;  an 
engraving  by  Vangelisti,  from  the  original  painting  by 
Antoine  Frangois  Callet. 

Autograph  from  same  book. 
Lord  Hillsborough   (Born  Wills  Hill ;  afterwards  Mar- 
quis of  Downshire) facing  164 

From  a  painting  by  J.  Rising,  owned  by  Lord  Salisbury. 

Autograph   from   MS.    collection   in   the    New   York 
Public  Library,  Lenox  Building. 
Paul  Jones facing  300 

From  the  original  portrait  by  C.  W.  Peale  in  Independ- 
ence Hall. 

Autograph  from  MS.  collection  in  Library  of  Boston 
Athenaeum. 
Sea-Fight    between    the    Serapis    and    Bon    Homme 

Richard facing  302 

Oif   Flamborough    Head,   September  3,    1779.     Paul 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Jones's  ship,  in  compliment  to  the  author  of  "  Poor  Rich- 
ard's Maxims,"  was  named  "  Bon  Homme  Richard." 
Captain  Pearson,  who  commanded  the  Serapis,  was 
knighted  for  his  heroic  resistance.  Paul  Jones,  tradition 
says,  on  hearing  of  the  honor  conferred  on  Pearson, 
good-naturedly  observed,  "If  I  ever  meet  him  again, 
I'll  make  a  lord  of  him." 


BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 


CHAPTER   I 

EARLY   YEARS 

It  is  a  lamentable  matter  for  any  writer  to  find 
himself  compelled  to  sketch,  however  briefly,  the 
early  years  of  Benjamin  Franklin.  That  auto- 
biography, in  which  the  story  of  those  years  is  so 
inimitably  told,  by  its  vividness,  its  simplicity, 
even  by  its  straightforward  vanity,  and  by  the 
quaint  charm  of  its  old-fashioned  but  well-nigh 
faultless  style,  stands  among  the  few  masterpieces 
of  English  prose.  It  ought  to  have  served  for  the 
perpetual  protection  of  its  subject  as  a  copyright 
more  sacred  than  any  which  rests  upon  mere  statu- 
tory law.  Such,  however,  has  not  been  the  case, 
and  the  narrative  has  been  rehearsed  over  and 
over  again  till' the  American  who  is  not  familiar 
with  it  is  indeed  a  curiosity.  Yet  no  one  of  the 
subsequent  narrators  has  justified  his  undertaking. 
Therefore  because  the  tale  has  been  told  so  often, 
and  once  has  been  told  so  well,  and  also  in  order 
that  the  stone  which  it  is  my  lot  to  cast  upon  a 


2  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

cairn  made  up  of  so  many  failures  may  at  least  be 
only  a  small  pebble,  I  shall  get  forward  as  speed- 
ily as  possible  to  that  point  in  Franklin's  career 
where  his  important  public  services  begin,  at  the 
same  time  commending  every  reader  to  turn  again 
for  further  refreshment  of  his  knowledge  to  those 
pages  which  might  well  have  aroused  the  envy  of 
Fielding  and  Defoe. 

Franklin  came  from  typical  English  stock.  For 
three  hundred  years,  perhaps  for  many  centuries 
more,  his  ancestors  lived  on  a  small  freehold  at 
Ecton  in  Northamptonshire,  and  so  far  back  as 
record  or  tradition  ran  the  eldest  son  in  each  gen- 
eration had  been  bred  a  blacksmith.  But  after 
(  the  strange  British  fashion  there  was  intertwined 
with  this  singular  fixedness  of  ideas  a  stubborn 
\/  independence  in  thinking,  courageously  exercised 
C  in  times  of  peril.  The  Franklins  were  among  the 
early  Protestants,  and  held  their  faith  unshaken 
by  the  terrors  of  the  reign  of  Bloody  Mary.  By 
the  end  of  Charles  the  Second's  time  they  were 
non -conformists  and  attendants  on  conventicles; 
and  about  1682  Josiah  Franklin,  seeking  the 
peaceful  exercise  of  his  creed,  migrated  to  Boston, 
Massachusetts.  His  first  wife  bore  him  seven 
children,  and  died.  Not  satisfied,  he  took  in  sec- 
ond nuptials  Abiah  Folger,  "daughter  of  Peter 
Folger,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  New  England, 
of  whom  honorable  mention  is  made  by  Cotton 
Mather,"  and  justly,  since  in  those  dark  days  he 
was  an  active  philanthropist  towards  the  Indians, 


EARLY   YEARS  3 

and  an  opponent  of  religious  persecution.1  This 
lady  outdid  her  predecessor,  contributing  no  less 
than  ten  children  to  expand  the  family  circle. 
The  eighth  of  this  second  brood  was  named  Ben- 
jamin, in  memory  of  his  father's  favorite  brother. 
He  was  born  in  a  house  on  Milk  Street,  opposite 
the  Old  South  Church,  January  6,  old  style,  17, 
new  style,  1706.  Mr.  Parton  says  that  probably 
Benjamin  "derived  from  his  mother  the  fashion  of 
his  body  and  the  cast  of  his  countenance.  There 
are  lineal  descendants  of  Peter  Folger  who  strik- 
ingly resemble  Franklin  in  these  particulars  ;  one 
of  whom,  a  banker  of  New  Orleans,  looks  like 
a  portrait  of  Dr.  Franklin  stepped  out  of  its 
frame."2  A  more  important  inheritance  was  that 
of  the  humane  and  liberal  traits  of  his  mother's 
father. 

In  that  young,  scrambling  village  in  the  new 
country,  where  all  material,  human  or  otherwise, 
was  roughly  and  promptly  utilized,  the  unproduc- 
tive period  of  boyhood  was  cut  very  short.  Frank- 
lin's father  speedily  resolved  to  devote  him,  "as 
the  tithe  of  his  sons,  to  the  service  of  the  church," 
and  so  sent  him  to  the  grammar  school.  A  droller 
misfit  than  Franklin  in  an  orthodox  New  England 
pulpit  of  that  era  can  hardly  be  imagined;  but 
since  he  was  only  seven  years  old  when  his  father 
endeavored  to  arrange  his  life's  career,  a  misap- 
preciation  of  his  fitnesses  was  not  surprising.  The 
boy  himself  had  the  natural  hankering  of  children 
1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  i.  27.  2  Ibid.  i.  31. 


V 


4  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

bred  in  a  seaboard  town  for  the  life  of  a  sailor. 
It  is  amusing  to  fancy  the  discussions  between  this 
babe  of  seven  years  and  his  father,  concerning  his 
occupation  in  life.  Certainly  the  babe  had  not 
altogether  the  worst  of  it,  for  when  he  was  eight 
years  old  his  father  definitively  gave  up  the  notion 
of  making  him  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  At  the 
ripe  age  of  ten  he  was  taken  from  school,  and  set 
to  assist  his  father  in  the  trade  of  tallow-chandler 
and  soap-boiler.  But  dipping  wicks  and  pouring 
grease  pleased  him  hardly  better  than  reconciling 
infant  damnation  and  a  red-hot  hell  with  the  love- 
liness of  Christianity.  The  lad  remained  discon- 
tented. His  chief  taste  seemed  to  be  for  reading, 
and  great  were  the  ingenuity  and  the  self-sacrifice 
whereby  he  secured  books  and  leisure  to  read  them. 
The  resultant  of  these  several  forces  was  at  last 
a  suggestion  from  his  father  that  he  should  take 
up,  as  a  sort  of  quasi-literary  occupation,  the  trade 
of  a  printer.  James  Franklin,  an  older  brother  of 
Benjamin,  was  already  of  that  calling.  Benja- 
min stood  out  for  some  time,  but  at  last  reluctantly 
yielded,  and  in  the  maturity  of  his  thirteenth  year 
this  child  set  his  hand  to  an  indenture  of  appren- 
ticeship which  formally  bound  him  to  his  brother 
for  the  next  nine  years  of  his  life. 

Handling  the  types  aroused  a  boyish  ambi- 
tion to  see  himself  in  print.  He  scribbled  some 
ballads,  one  about  a  shipwreck,  another  about 
the  capture  of  a  pirate;  but  he  "escaped  being 
a  poet,"  as  fortunately  as  he  had  escaped  being  a 


EARLY   YEARS  5 

clergyman.  James  Franklin  seems  to  have  trained 
his  junior  with  such  fraternal  cuffs  and  abuse  as 
the  elder  brothers  of  English  biography  and  lit- 
erature appear  usually  to  have  bestowed  on  the 
younger.  But  this  younger  one  got  his  revenges. 
James  published  the  "New  England  Courant," 
and,  inserting  in  it  some  objectionable  matter,  was 
forbidden  to  continue  it.  Thereupon  he  canceled 
the  indenture  of  apprenticeship,  and  the  newspaper 
was  thereafter  published  by  Benjamin  Franklin. 
A  secret  renewal  of  the  indenture  was  executed 
simultaneously.  This  "flimsy  scheme"  gave  the 
boy  his  chance.  Secure  that  the  document  would 
never  be  produced,  he  resolved  to  leave  the  print- 
ing-house. But  the  influence  of  James  prevented 
his  getting  employment  elsewhere  in  the  town. 
Besides  this,  other  matters  also  harassed  him.  It 
gives  an  idea  of  the  scale  of  things  in  the  little 
settlement,  and  of  the  serious  way  in  which  life 
was  taken  even  at  its  outset,  to  hear  that  this 
'prentice  lad  of  seventeen  years  had  already  made 
himself  "a  little  obnoxious  to  the  governing  party," 
so  as  to  fear  that  he  might  soon  "  bring  himself  into 
scrapes."  For  the  inherited  habit  of  freedom  in] 
religious  speculation  had  taken  a  new  form  in 
Franklin,  who  was  already  a  free-thinker,  and  by 
his  "indiscreet  disputations  about  religion"  had 
come  to  be  "  pointed  at  with  horror  by  good  people 
as  an  infidel  and  atheist"  —  compromising,  even 
perilous,  names  to  bear  in  that  Puritan  village.  Va- 
rious motives  thus  combined  to  induce  migration. 


6  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

He  stole  away  on  board  a  sloop  bound  for  New 
York,  and  after  three  days  arrived  there,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1723.  He  had  but  a  trifling  sum  of  money, 
and  he  knew  no  one  in  the  strange  city.  He 
sought  occupation  in  his  trade,  but  got  nothing 
better  than  advice  to  move  on  to  Philadelphia; 
and  thither  he  went.  The  story  of  this  journey- 
ing is  delightfully  told  in  the  autobiography,  with 
the  famous  little  scene  wherein  he  figures  with  a 
loaf  under  each  arm  and  munching  a  third  while 
he  walks  "up  Market  Street,  as  far  as  Fourth 
Street,  passing  by  the  door  of  Mr.  Read,  my  fu- 
ture wife's  father;  when  she,  standing  at  the  door, 
saw  me,  and  thought  I  made,  as  I  certainly  did,  a 
most  awkward,  ridiculous  appearance." 

In  Philadelphia  Franklin  soon  found  opportu- 
nity to  earn  a  living  at  his  trade.  There  were 
then  only  two  printers  in  that  town,  ignorant  men 
both,  with  scant  capacity  in  the  technique  of  their 
calling.  His  greater  acquirements  and  ability, 
and  superior  knowledge  of  the  craft,  soon  attracted 
attention.  One  day  Sir  William  Keith,  gov- 
ernor of  the  province,  appeared  at  the  printing- 
office,  inquired  for  Franklin,  and  carried  him  off 
"to  taste  some  excellent  Madeira  "  with  himself 
and  Colonel  French,  while  employer  Keimer,  be- 
wildered at  the  compliment  to  his  journeyman, 
"star'd  like  a  pig  poison'd."  Over  the  genial 
glasses  the  governor  proposed  that  Franklin  should 
set  up  for  himself,  and  promised  his  own  influence 
to  secure  for  him  the  public  printing.     Later  he 


EARLY  YEARS  7 

wrote  a  letter,  intended  to  induce  Franklin's  father 
to  advance  the  necessary  funds.  Equipped  with 
this  document,  Franklin  set  out,  in  April,  1724, 
to  seek  his  father's  cooperation,  and  surprised  his 
family  by  appearing  unannounced  among  them, 
not  at  all  in  the  classic  garb  of  the  prodigal  son, 
but  "having  a  genteel  new  suit  from  head  to  foot, 
a  watch,  and  my  pockets  lin'd  with  near  five 
pounds  sterling  in  silver."  But  neither  his  pro- 
sperous appearance  nor  the  flattering  epistle  of  the 
great  man  could  induce  his  hard-headed  parent  to 
favor  a  scheme  "of  setting  a  boy  up  in  business, 
who  wanted  yet  three  years  of  being  at  man's 
estate."  The  independent  old  tallow-chandler  only 
concluded  that  the  distinguished  baronet  "must  be 
of  small  discretion."  So  Franklin  returned  with 
"some  small  gifts  as  tokens"  of  parental  love, 
much  good  advice  as  to  "steady  industry  and  pru- 
dent parsimony,"  but  no  cash  in  hand.  The  gal- 
lant governor,  however,  said:  "Since  he  will  not 
set  you  up,  I  will  do  it  myself,"  and  a  plan  was 
soon  concocted  whereby  Franklin  was  to  go  to 
England  and  purchase  a  press  and  types  with 
funds  to  be  advanced  by  Sir  William.  Every- 
thing was  arranged,  only  from  day  to  day  there 
was  delay  in  the  actual  delivery  to  Franklin  of  the 
letters  of  introduction  and  credit.  The  governor 
was  a  very  busy  man.  The  day  of  sailing  came, 
but  the  documents  had  not  come,  only  a  message 
from  the  governor  that  Franklin  might  feel  easy 
at  embarking,  for  that  the  papers  should  be  sent 


8  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

on  board  at  Newcastle,  down  the  stream.  Ac- 
cordingly, at  the  last  moment,  a  messenger  came 
hurriedly  on  board  and  put  the  packet  into  the 
captain's  hands.  Afterward,  when  during  the  lei- 
sure hours  of  the  voyage  the  letters  were  sorted, 
none  was  found  for  Franklin.  His  patron  had 
simply  broken  an  inconvenient  promise.  It  was 
indeed  a  "pitiful  trick  "  to  "impose  so  grossly  on 
a  poor  innocent  boy."     Yet  Franklin,  in  his  broad 

^tolerance  of  all  that  is  bad  as  well  as  good  in 
human  nature,  spoke  with  good-tempered  indiffer- 
ence, and  with  more  of  charity  than  of  justice, 
concerning  the  deceiver.  "It  was  a  habit  he  had 
acquired.  He  wish'd  to  please  everybody;  and, 
having  little  to  give,  he  gave  expectations.  He 
was  otherwise  an  ingenious,  sensible  man,  a  pretty 
good  writer,  and  a  good  governor  for  the  people. 
.   .   .   Several  of  our  best  laws  were  of  his  plan- 

|  ning,  and  passed  during  his  administration. " 

None  the  less  it  turned  out  that  this  contemp- 
tible governor  did  Franklin  a  good  turn  in  sending 
him  to  London,  though  the  benefit  came  in  a  fash- 
ion not  anticipated  by  either.  For  Franklin,  not 
yet  much  wiser  than  the  generality  of  mankind, 
had  to  go  through  his  period  of  youthful  folly, 
and  it  was  good  fortune  for  him  that  the  worst 
portion  of  this  period  fell  within  the  eighteen 
months  which  he  passed  in  England.  Had  this 
part  of  his  career  been  run  in  Philadelphia  its 
unsavory  aroma  might  have  kept  him  long  in  ill 
odor  among  his  fellow  townsmen,  then  little  toler- 


EARLY  YEARS  9 

ant  of  profligacy.  But  the  "errata"  of  a  jour- 
neyman printer  in  London  were  quite  beyond  the 
ken  of  provincial  gossips.  He  easily  gained  em- 
ployment in  his  trade,  at  wages  which  left  him  a 
little  surplus  beyond  his  maintenance.  This  sur- 
plus, during  most  of  the  time,  he  and  his  comrades 
squandered  in  the  pleasures  of  the  town.  Yet  ■ 
in  one  matter  his  good  sense  showed  itself,  for 
he  kept  clear  of  drink;  indeed,  his  real  nature 
asserted  itself  even  at  this  time,  to  such  a  degree 
that  we  find  him  waging  a  temperance  crusade 
in  his  printing-house,  and  actually  weaning  some 
of  his  fellow  compositors  from  their  dearly  loved  / 
"beer."  One  of  these,  David  Hall,  afterward 
became  his  able  partner  in  the  printing  business 
in  Philadelphia.  Amid  much  bad  companionship 
he  fell  in  with  some  clever  men.  His  friend 
James  Ralph,  though  a  despicable,  bad  fellow, 
had  brains  and  some  education.  At  this  time, 
too,  Franklin  was  in  the  proselyting  stage  of  infi- 
delity. He  published  "A  Dissertation  on  Liberty 
and  Necessity,  Pleasure  and  Pain,"  and  the  pam- 
phlet got  him  some  little  notoriety  among  the  free- 
thinkers of  London,  and  an  introduction  to  some 
of  them,  but  chiefly  of  the  class  who  love  to  sit  in 
taverns  and  blow  clouds  of  words.  Their  society 
did  him  no  good,  and  such  effervescence  was  better 
blown  off  in  London  than  in  Philadelphia. 

But  after  the  novelty  of  London  life  had  worn 
off,  it  ceased  to  be  to  Franklin's  taste.  He  began 
to  reform  somewhat,  to  retrench  and  lay  by  a  little 


10  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

money;  and  after  eighteen  months  he  eagerly- 
seized  an  opportunity  which  offered  for  returning 
home.  This  was  opened  to  him  by  a  Mr.  Den- 
ham,  a  good  man  and  prosperous  merchant,  then 
engaged  in  England  in  purchasing  stock  for  his 
store  in  Philadelphia.  Franklin  was  to  be  his 
managing  and  confidential  clerk,  with  the  prospect 
of  rapid  advancement.  At  the  same  time  Sir 
William  Wyndham,  ex-chancellor  of  the  exchequer, 
endeavored  to  persuade  Franklin  to  open  a  swim- 
ming school  in  London.  He  promised  very  aristo- 
cratic patronage;  and  as  an  opening  for  money- 
getting  this  plan  was  perhaps  the  better.  Franklin 
almost  closed  with  the  proposition.  He  seems, 
however,  to  have  had  a  little  touch  of  homesick- 
ness, a  preference,  if  not  quite  a  yearning,  for  the 
colonies,  which  sufficed  to  turn  the  scale.  Such 
was  his  third  escape;  he  might  have  passed  his 
days  in  instructing  the  scions  of  British  nobility 
in  the  art  of  swimming!  He  arrived  at  home, 
after  a  tedious  voyage,  October  11,  1726.  But 
almost  immediately  fortune  seemed  to  cross  him, 
for  Mr.  Denham  and  he  were  both  taken  suddenly 
ill.  Denham  died;  Franklin  narrowly  evaded 
death,  and  fancied  himself  somewhat  disappointed 
at  his  recovery,  "regretting  in  some  degree  that 
[he]  must  now  sometime  or  other  have  all  that 
disagreeable  work  to  go  over  again."  He  seems 
to  have  become  sufficiently  interested  in  what  was 
likely  to  follow  his  decease,  in  this  world  at  least, 
to  compose  an  epitaph  which  has  become  world- 
renowned,  and  has  been  often  imitated :  — 


EARLY  YEARS  11 

THE   BODY 
OF 

BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

(like  the  cover  of  an  old  book, 

its  contents  torn  out, 

and  stript  of  its  lettering  and  gilding,) 

lies  here,  food  for  worms, 

yet  the  work  itself  shall  not  be  lost, 

for  it  will,  as  he  believed,  appear  once  more, 

IN    A   NEW 

AND   MORE    BEAUTIFUL    EDITION, 

CORRECTED   AND   AMENDED 

BY 

the  Author. 

But  there  was  no  use  for  this  graveyard  literature ; 
Franklin  got  well,  and  recurred  again  to  his  proper 
trade.  Being  expert  with  the  composing-stick, 
he  was  readily  engaged  at  good  wages  by  his  old 
employer,  Keimer.  Franklin,  however,  soon  sus- 
pected that  this  man's  purpose  was  only  to  use 
him  temporarily  for  instructing  some  green  hands, 
and  for  organizing  the  printing-office.  Naturally 
a  quarrel  soon  occurred.  But  Franklin  had  proved 
his  capacity,  and  forthwith  the  father  of  one  Mere- 
dith, a  fellow  journeyman  under  Keimer,  advanced 
sufficient  money  to  set  up  the  two  as  partners 
in  the  printing  business.  Franklin  managed  the 
office,  showing  admirable  enterprise,  skill,  and 
industry.  Meredith  drank.  This  allotment  of 
functions  soon  produced  its  natural  result.  Two 
friends   of    Franklin   lent   him   what   capital   he 


12  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

needed ;  he  bought  out  Meredith  and  had  the 
whole  business  for  himself.  His  zeal  increased; 
he  won  good  friends,  gave  general  satisfaction,  and 
absorbed  all  the  best  business  in  the  province. 

At  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  partnership 
the  only  newspaper  of  Pennsylvania  was  published 
by  Bradford,  a  rival  of  Keimer  in  the  printing 
business.  It  was  "a  paltry  thing,  wretchedly 
managed,  no  way  entertaining,  and  yet  was  profit- 
able to  him."  Franklin  and  Meredith  resolved 
to  start  a  competing  sheet;  but  Keimer  got  wind 
of  their  plan,  and  at  once  "published  proposals 
for  printing  one  himself."  He  had  got  ahead  of 
them,  and  they  had  to  desist.  But  he  was  igno- 
rant, shiftless,  and  incompetent,  and  after  carrying 
on  his  enterprise  for  "three  quarters  of  a  year, 
with  at  most  only  ninety  subscribers,"  he  sold  out 
his  failure  to  Franklin  and  Meredith  "for  a  trifle." 
To  them,  or  rather  to  Franklin,  "it  prov'd  in 
a  few  years  extremely  profitable."  Its  original 
name,  "The  Universal  Instructor  in  all  Arts  and 
Sciences,  and  Pennsylvania  Gazette,"  was  reduced 
by  the  amputation  of  the  first  clause,  and,  relieved 
from  the  burden  of  its  trailing  title,  it  circulated 
actively  throughout  the  province,  and  further. 
Number  40,  Franklin's  first  number,  appeared 
October  2,  1729.  Bradford,  who  was  postmaster, 
refused  to  allow  his  post-riders  to  carry  any  save 
his  own  newspaper.  But  Franklin,  whose  moral- 
ity was  nothing  if  not  practical,  fought  the  devil 
with  fire,  and  bribed  the  riders  so  judiciously  that 


f: 


EARLY  YEARS  13 

his  newspaper  penetrated  whithersoever  they  went.^ 
He  says  of  it:  "Our  first  papers  made  a  quite 
different  appearance  from  any  before  in  the  Pro- 
vince ;  a  better  type,  and  better  printed  ;  but 
some  spirited  remarks  of  my  writing,  on  the  dis- 
pute then  going  on  between  Governor  Burnet  and 
the  Massachusetts  Assembly,  struck  the  principal 
people,  occasioned  the  paper  and  the  manager  of 
it  to  be  much  talked  of,  and  in  a  few  weeks 
brought  them  all  to  be  our  subscribers."  Later 
his  articles  in  favor  of  the  issue  of  a  sum  of  paper 
currency  were  so  largely  instrumental  in  carrying 
that  measure  that  the  profitable  job  of  printing 
the  money  became  his  reward.  Thus  advancing 
in  prestige  and  prosperity,  he  was  able  to  dis- 
charge by  installments  his  indebtedness.  "In 
order  to  secure,"  he  says,  "my  credit  and  char- 
acter as  a  tradesman,  I  took  care  to  be  not  only 
in  reality  industrious  and  frugal,  but  to  avoid  all 
appearances  to  the  contrary."  A  characteristic 
remark.  With  Franklin  every  virtue  had  its  mar- 
ket value,  and  to  neglect  to  get  that  value  out  of 
it  was  the  part  of  folly. 

About  this  time  the  wife  of  a  glazier,  who  occu- 
pied part  of  Franklin's  house,  began  match-making 
in  behalf  of  a  "very  deserving  "  girl;  and  Frank- 
lin, nothing  loath,  responded  with  "serious  court- 
ship." He  intimated  his  willingness  to  accept  the 
maiden's  hand,  provided  that  its  fellow  hand  held 
a  dowry,  and  he  named  an  hundred  pounds  sterling 
as  his  lowest  figure.     The  parents,  on  the  other 


14  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

part,  said  that  they  had  not  so  much  ready  money, 
Franklin  civilly  suggested  that  they  could  get  it 
by  mortgaging  their  house;  they  firmly  declined. 
The  negotiation  thereupon  was  abandoned.  "This 
affair,"  Franklin  continues,  "having  turned  my 
thoughts  to  marriage,  I  look'd  round  me  and  made 
overtures  of  acquaintance  in  other  places;  but 
soon  found  that,  the  business  of  a  printer  being 
generally  thought  a  poor  one,  I  was  not  to  expect 
money  with  a  wife,  unless  with  such  a  one  as  I 
should  not  otherwise  think  agreeable."  Finding 
such  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a  financial  alliance, 
Franklin  appears  to  have  bethought  him  of  affec- 
tion as  a  substitute  for  dollars;  so  he  blew  into 
the  ashes  of  an  old  flame,  and  aroused  some  heat. 
Before  going  to  England  he  had  engaged  himself 
to  Miss  Deborah  Read;  but  in  London  he  had 
pretty  well  forgotten  her,  and  had  written  to  her 
only  a  single  letter.  Many  years  afterward,  writ- 
ing to  Catharine  Ray  in  1755,  he  said:  "The 
cords  of  love  and  friendship  ...  in  times  past 
have  drawn  me  .  .  .  back  from  England  to  Phila- 
delphia." If  the  remark  referred  to  an  affection 
for  Miss  Read,  it  was  probably  no  more  trust- 
worthy than  are  most  such  allegations  made  when 
lapsing  years  have  given  a  fictitious  coloring  to  a 
remote  past.  If  indeed  Franklin's  profligacy  and 
his  readiness  to  marry  any  girl  financially  eligible 
were  symptoms  attendant  upon  his  being  in  love,  it 
somewhat  taxes  the  imagination  to  fancy  how  he 
would  have  conducted  himself  had  he  not  been  the 


EARLY  YEARS  15 

victim  of  romantic  passion.  Miss  Read,  mean- 
while, apparently  about  as  much  in  love  as  her 
lover,  had  wedded  another  man,  "one  Rogers,  a 
potter,"  a  good  workman  but  worthless  fellow,  who 
soon  took  flight  from  his  bride  and  his  creditors. 
Her  position  had  since  become  somewhat  question- 
able ;  for  there  was  a  story  that  her  husband  had 
an  earlier  wife  living,  in  which  case  of  course  her 
marriage  with  him  was  null.  There  was  also  a 
story  that  he  was  dead.  But  there  was  little 
evidence  of  the  truth  of  either  tale.  Franklin, 
therefore,  hardly  knew  what  he  was  wedding,  a 
maid,  a  widow,  or  another  man's  wife.  Moreover 
the  runaway  husband  "had  left  many  debts,  which 
his  successor  might  be  call'd  upon  to  pay."  Few 
men,  even  if  warmly  enamored,  would  have  entered 
into  the  matrimonial  contract  under  circumstances 
so  discouraging ;  and  there  are  no  indications  save 
the  marriage  itself  that  Franklin  was  deeply  in 
love.  Yet  on  September  1,  1730,  the  pair  were 
wedded.  Mrs.  Franklin  survived  for  forty  years 
thereafter,  and  neither  seems  ever  to  have  regretted 
the  step.  "None  of  the  inconveniences  happened 
that  we  had  apprehended,"  wrote  Franklin;  "she 
proved  a  good^and  faithful  helpmate ;  assisted  me 
much  by  attending  the  shop ;  we  throve  together, 
and  have  ever  mutually  endeavored  to  make  each 
other  happy."  A  sensible,  comfortable,  satisfac- 
tory union  it  was,  showing  how  much  better  is 
sense  than  sensibility  as  an  ingredient  in  matri- 
mony.    Mrs.    Franklin  was  a  handsome  woman, 


16  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

of  comely  figure,  yet  nevertheless  an  industrious 
and  frugal  one ;  later  on  in  life  Franklin  boasted 
that  he  had  "been  clothed  from  head  to  foot  in 
linen  of  [his]  wife's  manufacture."  An  early  con- 
tribution of  his  own  to  the  domestic  menage  was 
his  illegitimate  son,  William,  born  soon  after  his 
wedding,  of  a  mother  of  whom  no  record  or  tradi- 
tion remains.  It  was  an  unconventional  wedding 
gift  to  bring  home  to  a  bride ;  but  Mrs.  Franklin, 
with  a  breadth  and  liberality  of  mind  akin  to  her 
husband's,  readily  took  the  babe  not  only  to  her 
home  but  really  to  her  heart,  and  reared  him  as 
if  he  had  been  her  own  offspring.  Mr.  Parton 
thinks  that  Franklin  gave  this  excellent  wife  no 
further  cause  for  suspicion  or  jealousy. 


CHAPTER   II 

A   CITIZEN   OF    PHILADELPHIA:     CONCERNMENT    IN 
PUBLIC    AFFAIRS 

So  has  ended  the  first  stage,  in  the  benign 
presence  of  Hymen.  The  period  of  youth  may  be 
regarded  as  over ;  but  the  narrative  thereof,  briefly 
as  it  has  been  given,  is  not  satisfactory.  One 
longs  to  help  out  the  outline  with  color,  to  get  the 
expression  as  well  as  merely  the  features  of  the 
young  man  who  is  going  to  become  one  of  the 
greatest  men  of  the  nation.  Many  a  writer  and 
speaker  has  done  what  he  could  in  this  task,  for 
Franklin  has  been  for  a  century  a  chief  idol  of 
the  American  people.  The  Boston  boy,  the  boy 
printer,  the  runaway  apprentice,  the  young  jour- 
neyman, friendless  and  penniless  in  distant  Lon- 
don, are  pictures  which  have  been  made  familiar  to 
many  generations  of  schoolboys;  and  the  trifling 
anecdote  of  the  bread  rolls  eaten  in  the  streets  of 
Philadelphia  has  for  its  only  rival  among  Ameri- 
can historical  traditions  the  more  doubtful  story 
about  George  Washington,  the  cherry-tree,  and  the 
little  hatchet. 

Yet,  if  plain  truth  is  to  be  told,  there  was  no- 
thing unusual  about  this  sunrise,  no  rare  tints  of 


18  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

divine  augury ;  the  luminary  came  up  in  every -day 
fashion.  Franklin  had  done  much  reading;  he 
had  taken  pains  to  cultivate  a  good  style  in  writing 
English ;  he  had  practiced  himself  in  dispute ;  he 
had  adopted  some  odd  notions,  for  example  vege- 
tarianism in  diet;  he  had  at  times  acquired  some 
influence  among  his  fellow  journeymen,  and  had 
used  it  for  good;  he  had  occasionally  fallen  into 
the  society  of  men  of  good  social  position;  he  had 
kept  clear  of  the  prevalent  habit  of  excessive 
drinking  ;  sometimes  he  had  lived  frugally  and 
had  laid  up  a  little  money;  more  often  he  had 
been  wasteful ;  he  had  been  very  dissolute,  and  in 
sowing  his  wild  oats  he  had  gone  down  into  the 
mud.  His  autobiography  gives  us  a  simple,  vivid, 
strong  picture,  which  we  accept  as  correct,  though 
in  reading  it  one  sees  that  the  lapse  of  time  since 
the  occurrences  narrated,  together  with  his  own 
success  and  distinction  in  life,  have  not  been  with- 
out their  obvious  effect.  By  the  time  he  thought 
it  worth  while  to  write  those  pages,  Franklin  had 
been  taught  to  think  very  well  of  himself  and  his 
career.  For  this  reason  he  was,  upon  the  one 
hand,  somewhat  indifferent  as  to  setting  down 
what  smaller  men  would  conceal,  confident  that 
his  fame  would  not  stagger  beneath  the  burden  of 
youthful  wrong-doing ;  on  the  other  hand,  he  deals 
rather  gently,  a  little  ideally,  with  himself,  as  old 
men  are  wont  to  acknowledge  with  condemnation 
tempered  with  mild  forgiveness  the  foibles  of  their 
early  days.     It  is  evident  that,  as  a  young  man, 


A  CITIZEN  OF  PHILADELPHIA  19 

Franklin  intermingled  sense  with  folly,  correct 
living  with  dissipation,  in  a  manner  that  must  have 
made  it  difficult  for  an  observer  to  forecast  the 
final  outcome,  and  which  makes  it  almost  equally 
impossible  now  to  form  a  satisfactory  idea  of  him. 
He  is  not  to  be  disposed  of  by  placing  him  in  any 
ready-made  and  familiar  class.  If  he  had  turned 
out  a  bad  man,  there  would  have  been  abundance 
in  his  early  life  to  point  the  moralist's  warning 
tale ;  as  he  turned  out  a  very  reputable  one,  there 
is  scarcely  less  abundance  for  panegyrists  to  ex- 
patiate upon.  Certainly  he  was  a  man  to  attract 
some  attention  and  to  carry  some  weight,  yet  not 
more  than  many  another  of  whom  the  world  never 
hears.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage,  however,  he 
is  upon  the  verge  of  development;  a  new  period 
of  his  life  is  about  to  begin ;  what  had  been  dan- 
gerous and  evil  in  his  ways  disappears ;  the  breadth, 
originality,  and  practical  character  of  his  mind  are 
about  to  show  themselves.  He  has  settled  to  a 
steady  occupation;  he  is  industrious  and  thrifty; 
he  has  gathered  much  information,  and  may  be 
regarded  as  a  well-educated  man;  he  writes  a 
plain,  forcible  style ;  he  has  enterprise  and  shrewd- 
ness in  matters  of  business,  and  good  sense  in  all 
matters,  —  that  is  the  chief  point,  his  sound  sense 
has  got  its  full  growth  and  vigor,  and  of  sound 
sense  no  man  ever  had  more.  Very  soon  he  not 
only  prospers  financially,  but  begins  to  secure  at 
first  that  attention  and  soon  afterward  that  influ- 
ence which  always  follow  close   upon    success  in 


20  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

practical  affairs.  He  becomes  the  public-spirited 
citizen;  scheme  after  scheme  of  social  and  public 
improvement  is  suggested  and  carried  forward  by 
him,  until  he  justly  comes  to  be  one  of  the  fore- 
most citizens  of  Philadelphia.  The  enumeration 
of  what  he  did  within  a  few  years  in  this  small 
new  town  and  poor  community  will  be  found  sur- 
prising and  admirable. 

His  first  enterprise,  of  a  quasi  public  nature, 
was  the  establishment  of  a  library.  There  were 
to  be  fifty  subscribers  for  fifty  years,  each  paying 
an  entrance  fee  of  forty  shillings  and  an  annual 
due  of  ten  shillings.  He  succeeded  only  with  diffi- 
culty and  delay,  yet  he  did  succeed,  and  the  results 
were  important.  Later  a  charter  was  obtained, 
and  the  number  of  subscribers  was  doubled. 
"This,"  he  says,  "was  the  mother  of  all  the  North 
American  subscription  libraries,  now  so  numerous. 
.  .  .  These  libraries  have  improved  the  general 
conversation  of  the  Americans,  made  the  common 
traders  and  farmers  as  intelligent  as  most  gentle- 
men from  other  countries,  and  perhaps  have  con- 
tributed in  some  degree  to  the  stand  so  generally 
made  throughout  the  colonies  in  defense  of  their 
privileges."  "Reading  became  fashionable,"  he 
adds.  But  it  was  not  difficult  to  cultivate  the 
desire  for  reading;  that  lay  close  to  the  surface. 
The  boon  which  Franklin  conferred  lay  rather  in 
setting  the  example  of  a  scheme  by  which  books 
could  be  cheaply  obtained  in  satisfactory  abun- 
dance. 


A  CITIZEN   OF  PHILADELPHIA  21 

From  the  course  of  this  business  he  drew  one 
of  those  shrewd,  practical  conclusions  which  aided 
him  so  much  in  life.  He  says  that  he  soon  felt 
uthe  impropriety  of  presenting  one's  self  as  the 
proposer  of  any  useful  project  that  might  be  \s 
supposed  to  raise  one's  reputation  in  the  smallest 
degree  above  that  of  one's  neighbors,  when  one 
has  need  of  their  assistance  to  accomplish  that 
project.  I  therefore  put  myself  as  much  as  I 
could  out  of  sight,  and  stated  it  as  a  scheme  of  a 
number  of  friends,  who  had  requested  me  to  go 
about  and  propose  it."  This  method  he  found  so 
well  suited  to  the  production  of  results  that  he 
habitually  followed  it  in  his  subsequent  under- 
takings. It  was  sound  policy;  the  self-abnegation 
helped  success ;  the  success  secured  personal  pres- 
tige. It  was  soon  observed  that  when  "a  number 
of  friends  "  or  "a  few  gentlemen  "  were  represented 
by  Franklin,  their  purpose  was  usually  good  and 
was  pretty  sure  to  be  carried  through.  Hence 
came  reputation  and  influence. 

In  December,  1732,  he  says,  "I  first  published 
my  Almanack,  under  the  name  of  Richard  Saun- 
ders" price  five  pence,  thereby  falling  in  with 
a  common  custom  among  the  colonial  printers. 
Within  the  month  three  editions  were  sold  ;  and 
it  was  continued  for  twenty-five  years  thereafter 
with  an  average  sale  of  10,000  copies  annually, 
until  "Poor  Kichard  "  became  a  nom  de  plume  as 
renowned  as  any  in  English  literature.  The  pub- 
lication ranks  as  one  of  the  most  influential  in  the 


22  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

world.  Its  "proverbial  sentences,  chiefly  such  as 
inculcated  industry  and  frugality  as  the  means  of 
procuring  wealth  and  thereby  securing  virtue," 
were  sown  like  seed  all  over  the  land.  The  alma- 
nac went  year  after  year,  for  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, into  the  house  of  nearly  every  shopkeeper, 
planter,  and  farmer  in  the  American  provinces. 
Its  wit  and  humor,  its  practical  tone,  its  shrewd 
maxims,  its  worldly  honesty,  its  morality  of  com- 
mon sense,  its  useful  information,  all  chimed  well 
with  the  national  character.  It  formulated  in 
homely  phrase  and  with  droll  illustration  what  the 
colonists  more  vaguely  knew,  felt,  and  believed 
upon  a  thousand  points  of  life  and  conduct.  In  so 
doing  it  greatly  trained  and  invigorated  the  natural 
mental  traits  of  the  people.  "Poor  Richard  "  was 
the  revered  and  popular  schoolmaster  of  a  young 
nation  during  its  period  of  tutelage.  His  teach- 
ings are  among  the  powerful  forces  which  have  gone 
to  shaping  the  habits  of  Americans.  His  terse  and 
picturesque  bits  of  the  wisdom  and  the  virtue  of 
this  world  are  familiar  in  our  mouths  to-day;  they 
moulded  our  great-grandparents  and  their  children; 
they  have  informed  our  popular  traditions;  they 
still  influence  our  actions,  guide  our  ways  of 
thinking,  and  establish  our  points  of  view,  with 
the  constant  control  of  acquired  habits  which  we 
little  suspect.  If  we  were  accustomed  still  to 
read  the  literature  of  the  almanac,  we  should  be 
charmed  with  its  humor.  The  world  has  not  yet 
grown  away  from  it,  nor  ever  will.     Addison  and 


A  CITIZEN   OF  PHILADELPHIA  23 

Steele  had  more  polish  but  vastly  less  humor  than 
Franklin.  "Poor  Kichard  "  has  found  eternal  life 
by  passing  into  the  daily  speech  of  the  people, 
while  the  "Spectator"  is  fast  being  crowded  out 
of  the  hands  of  all  save  scholars  in  literature.  At 
this  period  of  his  life  he  wrote  many  short  fugitive 
pieces,  which  hold  some  of  the  rarest  wit  that  an 
American  library  contains.  Few  people  suspect 
that  the  ten  serious  and  grave-looking  octavos, 
imprinted  "The  Works  of  Benjamin  Franklin, " 
hide  much  of  that  delightful  kind  of  wit  that  can 
never  grow  old,  but  is  as  charming  to-day  as  when 
it  came  damp  from  the  press  a  century  and  more 
ago.  How  much  of  "Poor  Eichard"  was  actually 
original  is  a  sifting  not  worth  while  to  make. 
Franklin  said:  "I  was  conscious  that  not  a  tenth 
part  of  the  wisdom  was  my  own  which  he  ascribed 
to  me,  but  rather  the  gleanings  that  I  had  made  of 
the  sense  of  all  ages  and  nations."  No  profound 
wisdom  is  really  new,  but  only  the  expression  of 
it;  and  all  that  of  "Poor  Richard  "  had  been  fused 
in  the  crucible  of  Franklin's  brain. 

But  the  famous  almanac  was  not  the  only  pulpit 
whence  Franklin  preached  to  the  people.  He  had 
an  excellent  ideal  of  a  newspaper.  He  got  news 
into  it,  which  was  seldom  done  in  those  days,  and 
which  made  it  attractive;  he  got  advertisements 
into  it,  which  made  it  pay,  and  which  also  was  a 
novel  feature;  indeed,  Mr.  Parton  says  that  he 
"originated  the  modern  system  of  business  adver- 
tising ;  "  he  also  discussed  matters  of  public  inter- 


24  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

est.  Thus  he  anticipated  the  modern  newspaper, 
but  in  some  respects  improved  in  advance  upon 
that  which  he  anticipated.  He  made  his  "Ga- 
zette "  a  vehicle  for  disseminating  information  and 
morality,  and  he  carefully  excluded  from  it  "all 
libeling  and  personal  abuse."  The  sheet  in  its 
every  issue  was  doing  the  same  sort  of  work  as 
"Poor  Richard."  In  a  word,  Franklin  was  a 
born  teacher  of  men,  and  what  he  did  in  this  way 
in  these  his  earlier  days  gives  him  rank  among  the 
most  distinguished  moralists  who  have  ever  lived. 

What  kind  of  morality  he  taught  is  well  known. 
It  was  human;  he  kept  it  free  from  entangling 
alliances  with  any  religious  creed;  its  foundations 
lay  in  common  sense,  not  in  faith.  His  own 
nature  in  this  respect  is  easy  to  understand  but 
difficult  to  describe,  since  the  words  which  must 
be  used  convey  such  different  ideas  to  different 
persons.  Thus,  to  say  that  he  had  the  religious 
temperament,  though  he  was  skeptical  as  to  all  the 
divine  and  supernatural  dogmas  of  the  religions 
of  mankind,  will  seem  to  many  a  self-contradic- 
tion, while  to  others  it  is  entirely  intelligible.  In 
his  boyhood  one  gets  a  flavor  of  irreverence  which 
was  slow  in  disappearing.  When  yet  a  mere  child 
he  suggested  to  his  father  the  convenience  of  saying 
grace  over  the  whole  barrel  of  salt  fish,  in  bulk, 
as  the  mercantile  phrase  would  be.  By  the  time 
that  he  was  sixteen,  Shaftesbury  and  Collins, 
efficiently  aided  by  the  pious  writers  who  had  en- 
deavored to  refute  them,  had  made  him  "a  real 


A  CITIZEN  OF  PHILADELPHIA  26 

doubter  in  many  points  of  our  religious  doctrine ; " 
and  while  he  was  still  his  brother's  apprentice 
in  Boston,  he  fell  into  disrepute  as  a  skeptic. 
Apparently  he  gathered  momentum  in  moving 
along  this  line  of  thought,  until  in  England  his 
disbelief  took  on  for  a  time  an  extreme  and  objec- 
tionable form.  His  opinions  then  were  "that  no- 
thing could  possibly  be  wrong  in  the  world;  and 
that  vice  and  virtue  were  empty  distinctions,  no 
such  things  existing."  But  the  pamphlet,  already 
mentioned,  in  which  he  expressed  these  views,  was 
the  outburst  of  a  youthful  free-thinker  not  yet 
accustomed  to  his  new  ideas;  not  many  years 
passed  over  his  head  before  it  "  appear 'd  not  so 
clever  a  performance  as  [he]  once  thought  it;  "  and 
in  his  autobiography  he  enumerates  it  among  the 
"errata  "  of  his  life. 

It  was  not  so  very  long  afterward  that  he  busied 
himself  in  composing  prayers,  and  even  an  entire 
litany,  for  his  own  use.  No  Christian  could  have 
found  fault  with  the  morals  therein  embodied ;  but 
Christ  was  entirely  ignored.  He  even  had  the 
courage  to  draw  up  a  new  version  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer;  and  he  arranged  a  code  of  thirteen  rules 
after  the  fashion  of  the  Ten  Commandments ;  of 
these  the  last  one  was:  "Imitate  Jesus  and  Soc- 
rates." Except  during  a  short  time  just  preceding 
and  during  his  stay  in  London  he  seems  never  to 
have  been  an  atheist;  neither  was  he  ever  quite  a 
Christian;  but  as  between  atheism  and  Christian- 
ity he  was  very  much  further  removed  from  the 


26  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

former  than  from  the  latter.  He  used  to  call  him- 
self a  deist,  or  theist ;  and  said  that  a  deist  was  as 
much  like  an  atheist  as  chalk  is  like  charcoal. 
The  evidence  is  abundant  that  he  settled  down  into 
a  belief  in  a  personal  God,  who  was  good,  who 
concerned  himself  with  the  affairs  of  men,  who 
was  pleased  with  good  acts  and  displeased  with 
evil  ones.  He  believed  also  in  immortality  and  in 
rewards  in  a  life  to  come.  But  he  supported  none 
of  these  beliefs  upon  the  same  basis  on  which 
Christians  support  them. 

Unlike  the  infidel  school  of  that  day  he  had 
no  antipathy  even  to  the  mythological  portions  of 
the  Christian  religion,  no  desire  to  discredit  it, 
nor  ambition  to  distinguish  himself  in  a  crusade 
against  it.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  always  reso- 
lute to  live  well  with  it.  His  mind  was  too  broad, 
his  habit  of  thought  too  tolerant,  to  admit  of  his 
antagonizing  so  good  a  system  of  morals  because 
it  was  intertwined  with  articles  of  faith  which  he 
did  not  believe.  He  went  to  church  frequently, 
and  always  paid  his  contribution  towards  the  ex- 
penses of  the  society;  but  he  kept  his  commenda- 
tion only  for  those  practical  sermons  which  showed 
men  how  to  become  virtuous.  In  like  manner 
the  instruction  which  he  himself  inculcated  was 
strictly  confined  to  those  virtues  which  promote 
the  welfare  and  happiness  of  the  individual  and 
of  society.  In  fact,  he  recognized  none  other ;  that 
which  did  not  advance  these  ends  was  but  a  spuri- 
ous pretender  to  the  title  of  virtue. 


A  CITIZEN  OF  PHILADELPHIA  27 

One  is  tempted  to  make  many  quotations  from 
Franklin's  writings  in  this  connection;  but  two 
or  three  must  suffice.  In  1743  he  wrote  to  his 
sister:  — 

"  There  are  some  things  in  your  New  England  doc- 
trine and  worship  which  I  do  not  agree  with  ;  but  I  do 
not  therefore  condemn  them,  or  desire  to  shake  your 
belief  or  practice  of  them.  We  may  dislike  things  that 
are  nevertheless  right  in  themselves.  I  would  only  have 
you  make  me  the  same  allowance,  and  have  a  better 
opinion  both  of  morality  and  your  brother." 

In  1756  he  wrote  to  a  friend :  — 

"  He  that  for  giving  a  draught  of  water  to  a  thirsty 
person  should  expect  to  be  paid  with  a  good  plantation, 
would  be  modest  in  his  demands  compared  with  those 
who  think  they  deserve  Heaven  for  the  little  good  they 
do  on  earth.  .  .  .  For  my  own  part,  I  have  not  the  van- 
ity to  think  I  deserve  it,  the  folly  to  expect  it,  nor  the 
ambition  to  desire  it ;  but  content  myself  in  submitting 
to  the  will  and  disposal  of  that  God  who  made  me,  who 
hitherto  has  preserved  and  blessed  me,  and  in  whose 
fatherly  goodness  I  may  well  confide.  .  .  . 

"  The  faith  you  mention  has  doubtless  its  use  in  the 
world ;  I  do  not  desire  it  to  be  diminished,  nor  would  I 
endeavor  to  lessen  it  in  any  man.  But  I  wish  it  were 
more  productive  of  good  works  than  I  have  generally 
seen  it.  I  mean  real  good  works,  —  works  of  kindness, 
charity,  mercy,  and  public  spirit ;  not  holiday-keeping, 
sermon  reading  or  hearing,  performing  church  ceremo- 
nies, or  making  long  prayers,  filled  with  flatteries  and 
compliments  despised  even  by  wise  men  and  much  less 
capable  of  pleasing  the  Deity.     The  worship  of  God  is 


% 


28  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

a  duty,  the  hearing  arid  reading  of  sermons  may  be  use- 
ful ;  but  if  men  rest  in  hearing  and  praying,  as  too  many 
do,  it  is  as  if  a  tree  should  value  itself  in  being  watered 
and  putting  forth  leaves,  though  it  never  produced  any 
fruit.', 

Throughout  his  life  he  may  be  said  to  have  very 
slowly  moved  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Christian 
faith,  until  at  last  he  came  so  near  that  many  of 
those  somewhat  nondescript  persons  who  call  them- 
selves "liberal  Christians  "  might  claim  him  as 
one  of  themselves.  But  if  a  belief  in  the  divinity 
of  Christ  is  necessary  to  make  a  "Christian,"  it 
does  not  appear  that  Franklin  ever  fully  had  the 
qualification.  When  he  was  an  old  man,  in  1790, 
President  Stiles  of  Yale  College  took  the  free- 
dom of  interrogating  him  as  to  his  religious  faith. 
It  was  the  first  time  that  any  one  had  ever  thus 
ventured.  His  reply 1  is  interesting :  "  As  to 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,"  he  says,  "I  think  his  system 
of  morals  and  his  religion,  as  he  left  them  to  us, 
the  best  the  world  ever  saw,  or  is  like  to  see." 
But  he  thinks  they  have  been  corrupted.  "  I 
have,  with  most  of  the  present  dissenters  in  Eng- 
land, some  doubts  as  to  his  divinity ;  though  it  is 
a  question  I  do  not  dogmatize  upon,  having  never 
studied  it,  and  think  it  needless  to  busy  myself 
with  it  now,  when  I  expect  soon  an  opportunity 
of  knowing  the  truth  with  less  trouble.  I  see  no 
harm,  however,  in  its  being  believed,  if  that  belief 
has  the  good  consequences,  as  probably  it  has,  of 

1  Works,  x.  192. 


A  CITIZEN  OF  PHILADELPHIA  29 

making  his  doctrines  more  respected  and  more 
observed;  especially  as  I  do  not  see  that  the 
Supreme  takes  it  amiss  by  distinguishing  the  un- 
believers in  his  government  of  the  world  with  any 
peculiar  marks  of  his  displeasure."  His  God  was 
substantially  the  God  of  Christianity;  but  con- 
cerning Christ  he  was  generally  reticent  and  non- 
committal. 

Whatever  were  his  own  opinions,  which  un- 
doubtedly underwent  some  changes  during  his  life, 
as  is  the  case  with  most  of  us,  he  never  introduced 
Christianity,  as  a  faith,  into  any  of  his  moral  writ- 
ings. A  broad  human  creature,  with  a  marvelous 
knowledge  of  mankind,  with  a  tolerance  as  far- 
reaching  as  his  knowledge,  with  a  kindly  liking 
for  all  men  and  women ;  withal  a  prudent,  shrewd, 
cool-headed  observer  in  affairs,  he  was  content  to 
insist  that  goodness  and  wisdom  were  valuable,  as 
means,  towards  good  repute  and  well-being,  as 
ends.  He  urges  upon  his  nephew,  about  to  start 
in  business  as  a  goldsmith,  "perfect  honesty  ;  "  and 
the  reason  he  gives  for  his  emphasis  is,  that  the 
business  is  peculiarly  liable  to  suspicion,  and  if  a 
man  is  "once  detected  in  the  smallest  fraud  .  .  . 
at  once  he  is  ruined."  The  character  of  his  argu- 
ment was  always  simple.  He  usually  began  with 
some  such  axiom  as  the  desirability  of  success  in 
one's  enterprises,  or  of  health,  or  of  comfort,  or 
oi  ease  of  mind,  or  a  sufficiency  of  money;  and 
tfoen  he  showed  that  some  virtue,  or  collection  of 
virtues,  would  promote  this  result.     He  advocated 


I 


30  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

honesty  upon  the  same  principle  upon  which  he 
advocated  that  women  should  learn  to  keep  ac- 
counts, or  that  one  should  hold  one's  self  in  the 
background  in  the  presentation  of  an  enterprise 
such  as  his  public  library;  that  is  to  say,  his  ad- 
vocacy of  a  cardinal  virtue,  of  acquiring  a  piece 
of  knowledge,  or  of  adopting  a  certain  method 
of  procedure  in  business,  ran  upon  the  same  line, 
namely,  the  practical  usefulness  of  the  virtue,  the 
knowledge,  or  the  method,  for  increasing  the  prob- 
ability of  a  practical  success  in  worldly  affairs. 
Among  the  articles  inculcating  morality  which  he 
used  to  put  into  his  newspaper  was  a  Socratic 
Dialogue,  "tending  to  prove  that  whatever  might 
be  his  parts  and  abilities,  a  vicious  man  could  not 
properly  be  called  a  man  of  sense." 

He  was  forever  at  this  business ;  it  was  his 
nature  to  teach,  to  preach,  to  moralize.  With 
creeds  he  had  no  concern,  but  took  it  as  his  func- 
tion in  life  to  instruct  in  what  may  be  described 
as  useful  morals,  the  gospel  of  good  sense,  the 
excellence  of  common  humanity.  About  the  time 
in  his  career  which  we  have  now  reached  this  ten- 
dency of  his  had  an  interesting  development  in  its 
relationship  to  his  own  character.  He  "conceiv'd 
the  bold  and  arduous  project  of  arriving  at  moral 
perfection."  It  is  impossible  to  recite  the  details 
of  his  scheme,  but  the  narration  constitutes  one  of 
the  most  entertaining  and  characteristic  parts  of 
the  autobiography.  Such  a  plan  could  not  long 
be  confined  in  its  operation  to  himself  alone ;  the 


A  CITIZEN  OF  PHILADELPHIA  31 

teacher  must  teach;  accordingly  he  designed  to 
write  a  book,  to  be  called  "The  Art  of  Virtue," 
a  title  with  which  he  was  greatly  pleased,  as  in- 
dicating that  the  book  was  to  show  "the  means 
and  manner  of  obtaining  virtue  "  as  contradistin- 
guished from  the  "mere  exhortation  to  be  good, 
that  does  not  instruct  or  indicate  the  means." 
A  receipt  book  for  virtues!  Practical  instruc- 
tions for  acquiring  goodness !  Nothing  could  have 
been  more  characteristic.  One  of  his  Busy-Body 
papers,  February  18,  1728,  begins  with  the  state- 
ment that :  "  It  is  said  that  the  Persians,  in  their 
ancient  constitution,  had  public  schools  in  which 
virtue  was  taught  as  a  liberal  art,  or  science;" 
and  he  goes  on  to  laud  the  plan  highly.  Perhaps 
this  was  the  origin  of  the  idea  which  subsequently 
became  such  a  favorite  with  him.     It  was  his 

"  design  to  explain  and  enforce  this  doctrine :  that 
vicious  actions  are  not  hurtful  because  they  are  forbid- 
den, but  forbidden  because  they  are  hurtful,  the  nature 
of  man  alone  considered;  that  it  was  therefore  every 
o*he's  interest  to  be  virtuous  who  wished  to  be  happy 
even  in  this  world ;  and  I  should  .  .  .  have  endeavored 
to  convince  young  persons  that  no  qualities  were  so 
likely  to  make  a  poor  man's  fortune  as  those  of  probity 
and  integrity." 

Long  years  afterward,  in  1760,  he  wrote  about 
it  to  Lord  Karnes :  — 

"  Many  people  lead  bad  lives  that  would  gladly  lead 
good  ones,  but  do  not  know  how  to  make  the  change.  .  .  . 
To  expect  people  to  be  good,  to  be  just,  to  be  temperate, 


32  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

etc.,  without  showing  them  how  they  should  become  so 
seems  like  the  ineffectual  charity  mentioned  by  the 
apostle,  which  consists  in  saying  to  the  hungry,  the  cold, 
and  the  naked,  '  Be  ye  fed,  be  ye  warmed,  be  ye  clothed,' 
without  showing  them  how  they  should  get  food,  fire,  or 
clothing.  .  .  .  To  acquire  those  [virtues]  that  are  want- 
ing, and  secure  what  we  acquire,  as  well  as  those  we 
have  naturally,  is  the  subject  of  an  art.  It  is  as  pro- 
perly an  art  as  painting,  navigation,  or  architecture.  If 
a  man  would  become  a  painter,  navigator,  or  architect, 
it  is  not  enough  that  he  is  advised  to  be  one,  that  he  is 
convinced  by  the  arguments  of  his  adviser  that  it  would 
be  for  his  advantage  to  be  one,  and  that  he  resolves  to 
be  one  ;  but  he  must  also  be  taught  the  principles  of  the 
art,  be  shown  all  the  methods  of  working,  and  how  to 
acquire  the  habit  of  using  properly  all  the  instruments. 
.  .  .  My  '  Art  of  Virtue  '  has  also  its  instruments,  and 
teaches  the  manner  of  using  them." 

He  was  then  full  of  zeal  to  give  this  instruction. 
A  year  later  he  said:  "You  will  not  doubt  my 
being  serious  in  the  intention  of  finishing  my  '  Art 
of  Virtue.'  It  is  not  a  mere  ideal  work.  I 
planned  it  first  in  1732.  .  .  .  The  materials  have 
been  growing  ever  since.  The  form  only  is  now 
to  be  given."  He  even  says  that  "experiments" 
had  been  made  "with  success;  "  one  wonders  how; 
but  he  gives  no  explanation.  Apparently  Frank- 
lin never  definitely  abandoned  this  pet  design ;  one 
catches  glimpses  of  it  as  still  alive  in  his  mind, 
until  it  seems  to  fade  away  in  the  dim  obscurity 
of  extreme  old  age.     He  said  of   it  that   it  was 


A   CITIZEN   OF  PHILADELPHIA  33 

only  part  of  "a  great  and  extensive  project  that 
required  the  whole  man  to  execute,"  and  his  coun- 
trymen never  allowed  Franklin  such  uninterrupted 
possession  of  himself. 

A  matter  more  easy  of  accomplishment  was  the 
drawing  up  a  creed  which  he  thought  to  contain 
"the  essentials  of  every  known  religion,"  and  to 
be  "free  of  everything  that  might  shock  the  pro-  y 
fessors  of  any  religion."  He  intended  that  this 
should  serve  as  the  basis  of  a  sect,  which  should 
practice  his  rules  for  self -improvement.  It  was  at 
first  to  consist  of  "young  and  single  men  only," 
and  great  caution  was  to  be  exercised  in  the  admis- 
sion of  members.  The  association  was  to  be  called 
the  "Society  of  the  Free  and  Easy,"  "free,  as 
being,  by  the  general  practice  and  habit  of  the 
virtues,  free  from  the  dominion  of  vice ;  and  par- 
ticularly by  the  practice  of  industry  and  frugality 
free  from  debt,  which  exposes  a  man  to  confine- 
ment and  a  species  of  slavery  to  his  creditors."  It 
is  hardly  surprising  to  hear  that  this  was  one  of 
the  very  few  failures  of  Franklin's  life.  In  1788 
he  professed  himself  "still  of  the  opinion  that  it 
was  a  practicable  scheme."  One  hardly  reads  it 
without  a  smile  nowadays,  but  it  was  not  so  out  of 
keeping  with  the  spirit  and  habits  of  those  times. 
It  indicates  at  least  Franklin's  appreciation  of  the  v 
power  of  fellowship,  of  association.  No  man  knew 
better  than  he  what  stimulus  comes  from  the  sense 
of  membership  in  a  society,  especially  a  secret 
society.     He  had  a  great  fondness  for  organizing 


34  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

men  into  associations,  and  a  singular  aptitude  for 
creating,  conducting,  and  perpetuating  such  bodies. 
The  Junto,  a  child  of  his  active  brain,  became 
a  power  in  local  public  affairs,  though  organized 
and  conducted  strictly  as  a  "club  of  mutual  im- 
provement." He  formed  it  among  his  "ingenious 
acquaintance"  for  the  discussion  of  "queries  on 
any  point  of  morals,  politics,  or  natural  philo- 
sophy." He  found  his  model,  without  doubt,  in 
the  "neighborhood  benefit  societies,"  established 
by  Cotton  Mather,  during  Franklin's  boyhood, 
among  the  Boston  churches,  for  mutual  improve- 
ment among  the  members.1  In  time  there  came  a 
great  pressure  for  an  increase  of  the  number  of 
members ;  but  Franklin  astutely  substituted  a  plan 
whereby  each  member  was  to  form  a  subordinate 
club,  similar  to  the  original,  but  having  no  know- 
ledge of  its  connection  with  the  Junto.  Thus 
sprang  into  being  five  or  six  more,  "The  Vine, 
The  Union,  The  Band,"  etc.,  "answering,  in  some 
considerable  degree,  our  views  of  influencing  the 
public  opinion  upon  particular  occasions."  When 
Franklin  became  interested  in  any  matter,  he  had 
but  to  introduce  it  before  the  Junto  for  discussion ; 
straightway  each  member  who  belonged  to  any  one 
of  the  other  societies  brought  it  up  in  that  society. 
Thus  through  so  many  active-minded  and  dispu- 
tatious young  men  interest  in  the  subject  speedily 
percolated  through  a  community  of  no  greater  size 
than  Philadelphia.     Franklin  was  the  tap-root  of 

1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  i.  47. 


A  CITIZEN   OF  PHILADELPHIA  35 

the  whole  growth,  and  sent  his  ideas  circulating 
throughout  all  the  widespreading  branches.  He 
tells  us  that  in  fact  he  often  used  this  efficient 
machinery  to  much  advantage  in  carrying  through 
his  public  and  quasi  public  measures.  Thus  he 
anticipated  more  powerful  mechanisms  of  the  like 
kind,  such  as  the  Jacobin  Club  ;  and  he  him- 
self, under  encouraging  circumstances,  might  have 
wielded  an  immense  power  as  the  creator  and 
occult,  inspiring  influence  of  some  great  political 
society. 

Besides  his  didactic  newspaper,  his  almanac  even 
more  didactic,  the  Junto,  the  subscription  library, 
the  Society  of  the  Free  and  Easy,  his  system  of 
religion  and  morals,  and  his  scheme  for  acquiring 
all  the  virtues,  Franklin  was  engaged  in  many 
other  matters.  He  learned  French,  Italian,  and 
Spanish;  and  in  so  doing  evolved  some  notions 
which  are  now  beginning  to  find  their  way  into  the 
system  of  teaching  languages  in  our  schools  and 
colleges.  In  1736  he  was  chosen  clerk  to  the 
General  Assembly,  and  continued  to  be  reelected 
during  the  next  fourteen  years,  until  he  was  chosen 
a  member  of  the  legislature  itself.  In  1737  he 
was  appointed  postmaster  of  Philadelphia,  an 
office  which  he  found  "of  great  advantage,  for, 
tho'  the  salary  was  small,  it  facilitated  the  corre- 
spondence that  improv'd  my  newspaper,  increased 
the  number  demanded,  as  well  as  the  advertise- 
ments to  be  inserted,  so  that  it  came  to  afford  me 
a  considerable  income.    My  old  competitor's  news- 


36  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

paper  declined  proportionably,  and  I  was  satisfied 
without  retaliating  his  refusal,  while  postmaster, 
to  permit  my  papers  being  carried  by  the  riders." 

Soon  afterward  he  conferred  a  signal  benefit  on 
his  countrymen  by  inventing  an  uopen  stove  for 
the  better  warming  of  rooms,  and  at  the  same  time 
saving  fuel,"  —  the  Franklin  stove,  or,  as  he  called 
it,  "  the  Pennsylvania  fireplace."  Mr.  Parton 
warmly  describes  it  as  the  beginning  of  "  the 
American  stove  system,  one  of  the  wonders  of  the 
industrial  world."  Franklin  refused  to  take  out 
a  patent  for  it,  "from  a  principle  which  has  ever 
weighed  with  me  on  such  occasions,  viz. :  That  as 
we  enjoy  great  advantages  from  the  inventions 
of  others,  we  should  be  glad  of  an  opportunity  to 
serve  others  by  any  invention  of  ours;  and  this 
we  should  do  freely  and  generously."  This  lofty 
sentiment,  wherein  the  philanthropist  got  the 
better  of  the  man  of  business,  overshot  its  mark ; 
an  ironmonger  of  London,  who  did  not  combine 
philosophy  and  philanthropy  with  his  trade,  made 
"some  small  changes  in  the  machine,  which  rather 
hurt  its  operation,  got  a  patent  for  it  there,  and 
made  a  little  fortune  by  it." 

A  little  later  Franklin  founded  a  philosophical 
society,  not  intended  to  devote  its  energies  to 
abstractions,  but  rather  to  a  study  of  nature,  and 
the  spread  of  new  discoveries  and  useful  know- 
ledge in  practical  affairs,  especially  in  the  way  of 
farming  and  agriculture.  Franklin  always  had  a 
fancy  for  agriculture,  and  conferred  many  a  boon 


A  CITIZEN   OF   PHILADELPHIA  37 

upon  the  tillers  of  the  soil.  A  good  story,  which 
may  be  true,  tells  how  he  showed  the  fertilizing 
capacity  of  plaster  of  Paris.  In  a  field  by  the 
roadside  he  wrote,  with  plaster,  this  has  been 
plastered;  and  soon  the  brilliant  green  of  the 
letters  carried  the  lesson  to  every  passer-by. 

In  1743  Franklin  broached  the  idea  of  an  acad- 
emy ;  but  the  time  had  not  quite  come  when  the 
purse-strings  of  well-to-do  Pennsylvanians  could 
be  loosened  for  this  purpose,  and  he  had  no  suc- 
cess. It  was,  however,  a  project  about  which  he 
was  much  in  earnest,  and  a  few  years  later  he 
returned  to  it  with  better  auspices.  He  succeeded 
in  getting  it  under  weigh  by  means  of  private  sub- 
scriptions. It  soon  vindicated  its  usefulness,  drew 
funds  and  endowments  from  various  sources,  and 
became  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  Franklin 
tells  an  amusing  story  about  his  subsequent  con- 
nection with  it.  Inasmuch  as  persons  of  several 
religious  sects  had  contributed  to  the  fund,  it  was 
arranged  that  the  board  of  trustees  should  consist 
of  one  member  from  each  sect.  After  a  while  the 
Moravian  died;  and  his  colleagues,  having  found 
him  obnoxious  to  them,  resolved  not  to  have 
another  of  the  same  creed.  Yet  it  was  difficult  1 
to  find  any  one  who  did  not  belong  to,  and  there- 
fore unduly  strengthen,  some  sect  already  repre- 
sented. Finally  Franklin  was  mentioned  as  being 
"merely  an  honest  man,  and  of  no  sect  at  all." 
The  recommendation  secured  his  election.  It 
was  always  a  great  cause  of  his  success  and  influ- 


38  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

ence  that  nothing  could  be  alleged  against  his  cor- 
rect and  respectable  exterior  and  prudent,  moderate 
deportment. 

He  now  endeavored  to  reorganize  the  system, 
if  system  it  can  be  called,  of  the  night-watch  in 
Philadelphia.  His  description  of  it  is  pictur- 
esque :  — 

"  It  was  managed  by  the  constables  of  the  respective 
wards,  in  turn ;  the  constable  warned  a  number  of 
housekeepers  to  attend  him  for  the  night.  Those  who 
chose  never  to  attend  paid  him  six  shillings  to  be  ex- 
cus'd,  which  was  supposed  to  be  for  hiring  substitutes, 
but  was,  in  reality,  much  more  than  was  necessary  for 
that  purpose,  and  made  the  constableship  a  place  of 
profit ;  and  the  constable,  for  a  little  drink,  often  got 
such  ragamuffins  about  him  as  a  watch,  that  respectable 
housekeepers  did  not  choose  to  mix  with.  Walking  the 
rounds,  too,  was  often  neglected,  and  most  of  the  nights 
spent  in  tippling." 

But  even  Franklin's  influence  was  overmatched 
by  this  task.  An  abuse,  nourished  by  copious 
rum,  strikes  its  roots  deep,  and  many  years  elapsed 
before  this  one  could  be  eradicated. 

In  another  enterprise  Franklin  shrewdly  enlisted 
the  boon-companion  element  on  his  side,  with  the 
result  of  immediate  and  brilliant  success.  He  be- 
gan as  usual  by  reading  a  paper  before  the  Junto, 
and  through  this  intervention  set  the  people  think- 
ing concerning  the  utter  lack  of  any  organization 
for  extinguishing  fires  in  the  town.  In  conse- 
quence the  Union  Fire  Company  was  soon  estab- 


A  CITIZEN  OF  PHILADELPHIA  39 

lished,  the  first  tiling  of  the  kind  in  the  city. 
Franklin  continued  a  member  of  it  for  half  a  cen- 
tury. It  was  thoroughly  equipped  and  efficiently 
conducted.  An  item  in  the  terms  of  association 
was  that  the  members  should  spend  a  social  even- 
ing together  once  a  month.  The  example  was 
followed;  other  companies  were  formed,  and  fifty 
years  later  Franklin  boasted  that  since  that  time 
the  city  had  never  "lost  by  fire  more  than  one  or 
two  houses  at  a  time ;  and  the  flames  have  often 
been  extinguished  before  the  house  in  which  they 
began  has  been  half  consumed." 

About  this  time  he  became  interested  in  the 
matter  of  the  public  defenses,  and  wrote  a  pam- 
phlet, "Plain  Truth,"  showing  the  helpless  con- 
dition of  Pennsylvania  as  against  the  French  and 
their  Indian  allies.  The  result  was  that  the  peo- 
ple were  alarmed  and  aroused.  Even  the  Quakers 
winked  at  the  godless  doings  of  their  fellow  citi- 
zens, while  the  enrollment  and  drill  of  a  volunteer 
force  went  forward,  and  funds  were  raised  for 
building  and  arming  a  battery.  Franklin  sug- 
gested a  lottery,  to  raise  money,  and  went  to  New 
York  to  borrow  guns.  He  was  very  active  and 
very  successful;  and  though  the  especial  crisis 
fortunately  passed  away  without  use  being  made 
of  these  preparations,  yet  his  energy  and  efficiency 
greatly  enhanced  his  reputation  in  Pennsylvania. 

That  Franklin  had  been  prospering  in  his  pri- 
vate business  may  be  judged  from  the  facts  that  in 
1748  he  took  into  partnership  David  Hall,  who 


40  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

had  been  a  fellow  journeyman  with  him  in  Lon- 
don; and  that  his  purpose  was  substantially  to 
retire  and  get  some  "leisure  .  .  .  for  philoso- 
phical studies  and  amusements."  He  cherished 
the  happy  but  foolish  notion  of  becoming  master 
of  his  own  time.  But  his  fellow  citizens  had  pur- 
poses altogether  inconsistent  with  those  pleasing 
and  comfortable  plans  which  he  sketched  so  cheer- 
fully in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Colden  in  September, 
1748.  The  Philadelphians,  whom  he  had  taught 
thrift,  were  not  going  to  waste  such  material  as 
he  was.  "The  publick,"  he  found,  " now  consider- 
ing me  as  a  man  of  leisure,  laid  hold  of  me  for 
their  purposes;  every  part  of  our  civil  govern- 
ment, and  almost  at  the  same  time,  imposing  some 
duty  upon  me.  The  governor  put  me  into  the 
commission  of  the  peace;  the  corporation  of  the 
city  chose  me  of  the  common  council,  and  soon 
after  an  alderman;  and  the  citizens  at  large  chose 
me  a  burgess  to  represent  them  in  the  Assembly." 
This  last  position  pleased  him  best,  and  he  turned 
himself  chiefly  to  its  duties,  with  the  gratifying 
result,  as  he  records,  that  the  "trust  was  repeated 
every  year  for  ten  years,  without  my  ever  asking 
any  elector  for  his  vote,  or  signifying,  either  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  any  desire  of  being  chosen." 

The  next  year  he  was  appointed  a  commissioner 
to  treat  with  the  Indians,  in  which  business  he  had 
so  much  success  as  can  ever  attend  upon  engage- 
ments with  savages.  He  gives  an  amusing  account 
of  the  way  in  which  all  the  Indian  emissaries  got 


A  CITIZEN  OF  PHILADELPHIA  41 

drunk,  and  of  their  quaint  apology :  that  the  Great 
Spirit  had  made  all  things  for  some  use;  that 
"when  he  made  rum,  he  said,  '  Let  this  be  for  the 
Indians  to  get  drunk  with;  '  and  it  must  be  so." 

In  1751  he  assisted  Dr.  Bond  in  the  foundation 
of  his  hospital.  'The  doctor  at  first  tried  to  carry 
out  his  scheme  alone,  but  could  not.  The  tran- 
quil vanity  of  Franklin's  narration  is  too  good  to 
be  lost :  "  At  length  he  came  to  me,  with  the  com- 
pliment that  he  found  there  was  no  such  thing  as 
carrying  a  public-spirited  project  through,  without 
my  being  concerned  in  it.  '  For, '  says  he,  4  I  am 
often  asked  by  those  to  whom  I  propose  subscrib- 
ing, Have  you  consulted  Franklin  upon  this  busi- 
ness? and  what  does  he  think  of  it?  And  when  I 
tell  them  that  I  have  not  (supposing  it  rather  out 
of  your  line),  they  do  not  subscribe,  but  say  they 
will  consider  of  it.'"  It  is  surprising  that  this 
artful  and  sugar-tongued  doctor,  who  evidently 
could  read  his  man,  had  not  been  more  success- 
ful with  his  subscription  list.  With  Franklin,  at 
least,  he  was  eminently  successful,  touching  him 
with  a  consummate  skill  which  brought  prompt  re- 
sponse and  cooperation.  The  result  was  as  usual. 
Franklin's  hand  knew  the  way  to  every  Philadel- 
phian  merchant's  pocket.  Respected  as  he  was, 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  he  was  always  sincerely 
welcomed  as  he  used  to  move  from  door  to  door 
down  those  tranquil  streets,  with  an  irresistible 
subscription  paper  in  his  hand.  In  this  case  pri- 
vate subscriptions  were  eked  out   by  public  aid. 


42  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

The  legislature  was  applied  to  for  a  grant.  The 
country  members  objected,  said  that  the  benefit 
would  be  local,  and  doubted  whether  even  the 
Philadelphians  wanted  it.  Thereupon  Franklin 
drew  a  bill,  by  which  the  State  was  to  give  <£2000 
upon  condition  that  a  like  sum  should  be  raised 
from  private  sources.  This  was  soon  done.  Frank- 
lin regarded  his  device  as  a  novelty  and  a  ruse  in 
legislation.  He  complacently  says:  "I  do  not 
remember  any  of  my  political  manoeuvres,  the 
success  of  which  gave  me  at  the  time  more  plea- 
sure, or  wherein,  after  thinking  of  it,  I  more  easily 
excused  myself  for  having  made  some  use  of  cun- 
ning." Simple  times,  in  which  such  an  act  could 
be  described  as  a  "manoeuvre"  and  "cunning!  " 

He  further  turned  his  attention  to  matters  of 
local  improvement.  He  got  pavements  laid ;  and 
even  brought  about  the  sweeping  of  the  streets 
twice  in  each  week.  Lighting  the  streets  came 
almost  simultaneously;  and  in  connection  with 
this  he  showed  his  wonted  ingenuity.  Globes 
open  only  at  the  top  had  heretofore  been  used, 
and  by  reason  of  the  lack  of  draft,  they  became 
obscured  by  smoke  early  in  the  evening.  Frank- 
lin made  them  of  four  flat  panes,  with  a  smoke- 
funnel,  and  crevices  to  admit  the  air  beneath. 
The  Londoners  had  long  had  the  method  before 
their  eyes,  every  evening,  at  Vauxhall;  but  had 
never  got  at  the  notion  of  transferring  it  to  the 
open  streets. 

For  a  long  while  Franklin  was  employed  by  the 


A  CITIZEN  OF  PHILADELPHIA  43 

postmaster-general  of  the  colonies  as  "his  comp- 
troller in  regulating  several  offices  and  bringing 
the  officers  to  account."  In  1753  the  incumbent 
died,  and  Franklin  and  Mr.  William  Hunter, 
jointly,  were  appointed  his  successors.  They  set 
to  work  to  reform  the  entire  postal  service  of  the 
country.  The  first  cost  to  themselves  was  consid- 
erable, the  office  falling  more  than  £900  in  debt 
to  them  during  the  first  four  years.  But  there- 
afterward  the  benefit  of  their  measures  was  felt, 
and  an  office  which  had  never  before  paid  any- 
thing to  that  of  Great  Britain  came,  under  their 
administration,  "to  yield  three  times  as  much  clear 
revenue  to  the  crown  as  the  post-office  of  Ireland." 
Franklin  narrates  that  in  time  he  was  displaced 
"by  a  freak  of  the  ministers,"  and  in  happy  phrase 
adds,  "Since  that  imprudent  transaction,  they 
have  received  from  it  —  not  one  farthing!"  In 
this  connection  it  may  be  worth  while  to  quote 
Franklin's  reply  to  a  request  to  give  a  position  to 
his  nephew,  a  young  man  whom  he  liked  well,  and 
otherwise  aided.  "If  a  vacancy  should  happen,  it 
is  very  probable  he  may  be  thought  of  to  supply 
it;  but  it  is  a  rule  with  me  not  to  remove  any 
officer  that  behaves  well,  keeps  regular  accounts, 
and  pays  duly ;  and  I  think  the  rule  is  founded  on 
reason  and  justice." 

At  this  point  in  his  autobiography  he  records, 
with  just  pride,  that  he  received  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts,  first  from  Yale  College  and  after- 
ward from  Harvard.      "Thus,  without  studying  in 


44  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

any  college,  I  came  to  partake  of  their  honors. 
They  were  conferred  in  consideration  of  my  im- 
provements and  discoveries  in  the  electric  branch 
of  natural  philosophy." 

An  interesting  page  in  the  autobiography  con- 
cerns events  in  the  year  1754.  There  were  distinct 
foreshadowings  of  that  war  between  England  and 
France  which  soon  afterward  broke  out,  beginning 
upon  this  side  of  the  water  earlier  than  in  Europe; 
and  the  lords  of  trade  ordered  a  congress  of  com- 
missioners from  the  several  colonies  to  assemble 
at  Albany  for  a  conference  with  the  chiefs  of  the 
Six  Nations.  They  came  together  June  19,  1754. 
Franklin  was  a  deputy  from  Pennsylvania;  and 
on  his  way  thither  he  "projected  and  drew  a  plan 
for  the  union  of  all  the  colonies  under  one  govern- 
ment, so  far  as  might  be  necessary  for  defense  and 
other  important  general  purposes?3  IF  was  not 
altogether  a  new  idea;  in  1697  William  Penn  had 
suggested  a  commercial  union  and  an  annual  con- 
gress. The  journal  of  the  congress  shows  that  on 
June  24  it  was  unanimously  voted  that  a  union 
of  the  colonies  was  "  absolutely  necessary  for  their 
security  and  defense."  The  Massachusetts  delega- 
tion alone  had  been  authorized  to  consider  the 
question  of  a  union,  and  they  had  power  to  enter 
into  a  confederation  "as  well  in  time  of  peace  as 
of  war."  Franklin  had  ahead}*-  been  urging  this 
policy  by  writings  in  the  "Gazette,"  and  now, 
when  the  ideas  of  the  different  commissioners  were 
brought    into   comparison,   his  were   deemed   the 


A  CITIZEN   OF  PHILADELPHIA  45 

best.  His  outline  of  a  scheme,  he  says,  "hap- 
pen'd  to  be  preferr'd,"  and,  with  a  few  amend- 
ments, was  accordingly  reported.  It  was  a  league 
rather  than  a  union,  somewhat  resembling  the 
arrangement  which  came  into  existence  for  the 
purposes  of  the  Revolution.  But^  it  came  to  no- 
thing; "its  fate,"  Franklin  said,  "was  singular." 
It  was  closely  debated,  article  by  article,  and  hav- 
ing at  length  been  "pretty  unanimously  accepted, 
it  came  before  the  colonial  assemblies  for  ratifica- 
tion." But  they  condemned  it;  "there  was  too  l 
much  prerogative  in  it,"  they  thought.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  board  of  trade  in  England  would 
not  approve  it  because  it  had  "too  much  of  the 
democratic."  All  which  led  Franklin  to  "suspect 
that  it  was  really  the  true  medium."  He  himself  1 
acknowledged  that  one  main  advantage  of  it  would 
be  "that  the  colonies  would,  by  this  connection, 
learn  to  consider  themselves,  not  as  so  many  inde- 
pendent states,  but  as  members  of  the  same  body ; 
and  thence  be  more  ready  to  afford  assistance  and 
support  to  each  other,"  etc.  It  was  already  the 
national  idea  which  lay,  not  quite  formulated,  yet 
distinct  enough  in  his  mind.  It  was  hardly  to  be 
expected  that  the  home  government  would  fail  to 
see  this  tendency,  or  that  they  would  look  upon  it 
with  favor.  Franklin  long  afterward  indulged 
in  some  speculations  as  to  what  might  have  been 
the  consequences  of  an  adoption  of  his  scheme, 
namely:  united  colonies,  strong  enough  to  defend 
themselves  against  the  Canadian  French  and  their 


46  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

Indian  allies;  no  need,  therefore,  of  troops  from 
England;  no  pretext,  therefore,  for  taxing  the 
provinces;  no  provocation,  therefore,  for  rebellion. 
"But  such  mistakes  are  not  new;  history  is  full 
of  the  errors  of  states  and  princes.  .  .  .  The  best 
public  measures  are  seldom  adopted  from  previous 
wisdom  but  forced  by  the  occasion."  But  this 
sketch  of  what  might  have  been  sounds  over-fan- 
ciful, and  the  English  were  probably  right  in 
thinking  that  a  strong  military  union,  with  home 
taxation,  involved  more  of  danger  than  of  safety 
for  the  future  connection  between  the  colonies  and 
the  mother  country. 

There  was  much  uneasiness,  much  planning, 
theorizing,  and  discussing  going  on  at  this  time 
about  the  relationship  between  Great  Britain  and 
her  American  provinces;  earlier  stages  of  that 
talk  which  kept  on  growing  louder,  more  eager, 
and  more  disputatious,  until  it  was  swallowed  up 
in  the  roar  of  the  revolutionary  cannon.  Among 
others,  Shirley,  governor  of  Massachusetts,  con- 
cocted a  scheme  and  showed  it  to  Franklin.  By 
this  an  assembly  of  the  governors  of  all  the  colo- 
nies, attended  by  one  or  two  members  of  their 
respective  councils,  was  to  have  authority  to  take 
such  measures  as  should  seem  needful  for  defense, 
with  power  to  draw  upon  the  English  treasury  to 
meet  expenses,  the  amount  of  such  drafts  to  be 
"re-imbursed  by  a  tax  laid  on  the  colonies  by  act 
of  Parliament."  This  alarming  proposition  at 
once  drew  forth  three  letters  from  Franklin,  writ- 


A  CITIZEN  OF  PHILADELPHIA  47 

ten  in  December,  1754,  and  afterward  published 
in  the  "London  Chronicle"  in  December,  1766. 
His  position  amounted  to  this :  that  the  business  of 
self-defense  and  the  expense  thereof  were  matters 
neither  beyond  the  abilities  of  the  colonies,  nor 
outside  their  willingness,  and  should  therefore  be 
managed  by  them.  Their  loyalty  could  be  trusted; 
their  knowledge  must  be  the  best;  on  the  other 
hand,  governors  were  apt  to  be  untrustworthy, 
self-seeking,  and  ignorant  of  provincial  affairs. 
But  the  chief  emphasis  of  his  protest  falls  against 
taxation  without  representation.     He  says:  — 

"  That  it  is  supposed  an  undoubted  right  of  English- 
men not  to  be  taxed  but  by  their  own  consent,  given 
through  their  representatives. 

"  That  the  colonists  have  no  representative  in  Parlia- 
ment. 

"  That  compelling  the  colonists  to  pay  money  without 
their  consent  would  be  rather  like  raising  contributions 
in  an  enemy's  country,  than  taxing  of  Englishmen  for 
their  own  public  benefit. 

"  That  it  would  be  treating  them  as  a  conquered  peo- 
ple, and  not  as  true  British  subjects." 

And  so  on ;  traversing  beforehand  the  same  ground 
soon  to  be  so  thoroughly  beaten  over  by  the  patriot 
writers  and  speakers  of  the  colonies.  In  a  very 
few  years  the  line  of  argument  became  familiar,  but 
for  the  present  Franklin  and  a  very  few  more  were 
doing  the  work  of  suggestion  and  instruction  for 
the  people  at  large,  teaching  them  by  what  logic 
their  instinctive  convictions  could  be  maintained. 


48  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

He  further  ingeniously  snowed  that  the  colonists 
were  already  heavily  taxed  in  ways  from  which 
they  could  not  escape.  Taxes  paid  by  British 
artificers  came  out  of  the  colonial  consumers,  and 
the  colonists  were  compelled  to  buy  only  from 
Britain  those  articles  which  they  would  otherwise 
be  able  to  buy  at  much  lower  prices  from  other 
countries.  Moreover,  they  were  obliged  to  sell 
only  in  Great  Britain,  where  heavy  imposts  served 
to  curtail  the  net  profits  of  the  producer.  Even 
such  manufactures  as  could  be  carried  on  in  the 
colonies  were  forbidden  to  them.    He  concluded :  — 

"  These  kinds  of  secondary  taxes,  however,  we  do  not 
complain  of.  though  we  have  no  share  in  the  laying  or 
disposing  of  them  ;  but  to  pay  immediate,  heavy  taxes, 
in  the  laying,  appropriation,  and  disposition  of  which  we 
have  no  part,  and  which  perhaps  we  may  know  to  be 
as  unnecessary  as  grievous,  must  seem  hard  measures 
to  Englishmen,  who  cannot  conceive  that  by  hazarding 
their  lives  and  fortunes  in  subduing  and  settling  new 
countries,  extending  the  dominion  and  increasing  the 
commerce  of  the  mother  nation,  they  have  forfeited  the 
native  rights  of  Britons,  which  they  think  ought  rather 
to  be  given  to  them,  as  due  to  such  merit,  if  they  had 
been  before  in  a  state  of  slavery." 

A  third  letter  discussed  a  proposition  advanced 
by  Shirley  for  giving  the  colonies  representation 
in  Parliament.  Franklin  was  a  little  skeptical, 
and  had  no  notion  of  being  betrayed  by  a  kiss.  A 
real  unification  of  the  two  communities  lying  upon 
either  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  even  a  close  ap- 


A  CITIZEN   OF  PHILADELPHIA  49 

proximation  to  proportionate  representation,  would 
constitute  an  excellent  way  out  of  the  present  diffi- 
culties. But  he  saw  no  encouragement  to  hope  for 
this. 

In  fact,  the  project  of  laying  direct  internal 
taxes  upon  the  colonies  by  act  of  Parliament  was 
taking  firm  root  in  the  English  mind,  and  colonial 
protests  could  not  long  stay  the  execution  of  the 
scheme.  Even  such  grants  of  money  as  were  made 
by  some  of  the  colonial  legislatures  were  vetoed, 
on  the  ground  that  they  were  connected  with  en- 
croachments, schemes  for  independence,  and  an 
assumption  of  the  right  to  exercise  control  in  the 
matter  of  the  public  finances.1  The  Penns  re- 
joiced. Thomas  Penn  wrote,  doubtless  with  a 
malicious  chuckle :  "  If  the  several  assemblies  will 
not  make  provision  for  the  general  service,  an  act 
of  Parliament  may  oblige  them  here."  He  evi- 
dently thought  that  it  would  be  very  wholesome 
if  government  should  become  incensed  and  severe 
with  the  recalcitrants. 

During  his  discussion  with  Shirley,  Franklin 
had  been  upon  a  visit  to  Boston.  He  "left  New 
England,"  he  says,  "slowly,  and  with  great  reluc- 
tance;" for  he  loved  the  country  and  the  people. 
He  returned  home  to  be  swept  into  the  hurly-burly 
of  military  affairs.  War  appropriations  came  hard 
from  the  legislature  of  the  Quaker  province ;  but 
the  occasion  was  now  at  hand  when  come  they 
must.      In   the   autumn   of    1755    £60,000    were 

1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  iv.  176. 


50  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

voted,  chiefly  for  defense,  and  Franklin  was  one  of 
the  committee  in  charge  of  the  expenditure.  The 
border  was  already  unsafe,  and  formal  hostilities 
on  a  large  scale  were  close  at  hand.  France  and 
England  must  fight  it  out  for  the  possession  of 
the  new  continent,  which,  boundless  as  it  then 
seemed,  was  yet  not  big  enough  to  admit  of  their 
both  dwelling  in  it.  France  had  been  steadily 
pressing  upon  the  northern  and  western  frontiers 
of  the  British  colonies,  and  she  now  held  Crown 
Point,  Niagara,  the  fort  on  the  present  site  of 
Pittsburg,  and  the  whole  valley  of  the  Ohio  River. 
It  seemed  that  she  would  confine  the  English  to 
the  strip  along  the  coast  which  they  already  occu- 
pied. It  is  true  that  she  offered  to  relinquish  the 
Ohio  valley  to  the  savages,  to  be  a  neutral  belt 
between  the  European  nations  on  either  side  of 
it.  But  the  proposal  could  not  be  accepted ;  the 
French  were  much  too  clever  in  managing  the 
Indians.  Moreover,  it  was  felt  that  they  would 
never  permanently  desist  from  advancing.  Then, 
too,  the  gallant  Braddock  was  on  his  way  across 
seas,  with  a  little  army  of  English  regulars. 
Finally,  the  disproportion  between  the  English 
and  French  in  the  New  World  was  too  great  for 
the  former  to  rest  satisfied  with  a  compromise. 
There  were  about  1,165,000  whites  in  the  British 
provinces,  and  only  about  80,000  French  in  Can- 
ada. The  resources,  also,  of  the  former  were  in 
every  respect  vastly  greater.  These  iron  facts  must 
tell;  were  already  telling.     Throughout  this  last 


A  CITIZEN  OF  PHILADELPHIA  51 

deadly  grapple,  now  at  hand,  the  French  were  in 
desperate  earnest.  History  records  few  struggles 
wherein  the  strength  of  a  combatant  was  more 
utterly  spent,  with  more  entire  devotion,  than  was 
the  case  with  these  Canadian -French  provinces. 
Every  man  gave  himself  to  the  fight,  so  literally 
that  no  one  was  left  to  till  the  fields,  and  erelong 
famine  began  its  hideous  work  among  the  scanty 
forces.  The  English  and  Americans,  on  the  other 
hand,  were  far  from  conducting  the  struggle  with 
the  like  temper  as  the  French;  yet  with  such 
enormous  advantages  as  they  possessed,  if  they 
could  not  conquer  a  satisfactory  peace  in  course 
of  time,  they  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  themselves. 
So  no  composition  could  be  arranged;  the  Seven 
Years'  War  began,  and  to  open  it  with  becoming 
eclat  Braddock  debarked,  a  gorgeous  spectacle  in 
red  and  gold.  Yet  still  there  had  as  yet  been  in 
Europe  no  declaration  of  hostilities  between  Eng- 
land and  France ;  on  the  contrary,  the  government 
of  the  former  country  was  giving  very  fair  words 
to  that  of  the  latter;  and  in  America  the  British 
professed  only  to  intend  "to  repel  encroachments. " 1 
Franklin  had  to  take  his  share  of  the  disasters 
attendant  upon  the  fatal  campaign  of  Braddock. 
According  to  his  notion  that  foolish  officer  and  his 
two  ill-behaved  regiments  should  never,  by  good 
rights,  have  been  sent  to  the  provinces  at  all ;  for 
the  colonists,  being  able  and  willing  to  do  their 
own  fighting,  should  have  been  allowed  to  under- 
1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  iv.  182. 


52  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

take  it.  But  eleven  years  before  this  time  the 
Duke  of  Bedford  had  declared  it  a  dangerous 
policy  to  enroll  an  army  of  20,000  provincials  to 
serve  against  Canada,  "on  account  of  the  inde- 
pendence it  might  create  in  those  provinces,  when 
they  should  see  within  themselves  so  great  an 
army,  possessed  of  so  great  a  country  by  right  of 
conquest."  This  anxiety  had  been  steadily  gain- 
ing ground.  The  home  government  did  not 
choose  "to  permit  the  union  of  the  colonies,  as 
proposed  at  Albany,  and  to  trust  that  union  with 
their  defense,  lest  they  should  thereby  grow  too 
military  and  feel  their  own  strength,  suspicions 
and  jealousies  being  at  this  time  entertained  of 
them."  So  it  was  because  the  shadow  of  the 
Revolutionary  War  already  darkened  the  visions 
of  English  statesmen  that  the  gallant  array  of  sol- 
diery, with  the  long  train  of  American  attendants, 
had  to  make  that  terrible  march  to  failure  and 
death. 

The  Assembly  of  the  Quaker  province  was  sadly 
perturbed  lest  this  arbitrary  warrior,  encamped 
hard  by  in  Virginia,  should  "conceive  violent 
prejudices  against  them,  as  averse  to  the  service." 
In  their  alarm  they  had  recourse  to  Franklin's 
shrewd  wit  and  ready  tongue.  Accordingly,  he 
visited  Braddock  under  pretense  of  arranging  for 
the  transmission  of  mails  during  the  campaign, 
stayed  with  him  several  days,  and  dined  with  him 
daily.  There  were  some  kinds  of  men,  perhaps, 
whom   Braddock   appreciated   better  than  he  did 


A  CITIZEN   OF   PHILADELPHIA  53 

Indians;  nor  is  it  a  slight  proof  of  Franklin's 
extraordinary  capacity  for  getting  on  well  with 
every  variety  of  human  being  that  he  could  make 
himself  so  welcome  to  this  testy,  opinionated  mili- 
tary martinet,  who  in  every  particular  of  nature 
and  of  training  was  the  precise  contrary  of  the 
provincial  civilian. 

Franklin's  own  good  will  to  the  cause,  or  his 
ill  luck,  led  him  into  an  engagement,  made  just 
before  his  departure,  whereby  he  undertook  to 
procure  horses  and  wagons  enough  for  the  trans- 
portation of  the  ordnance  and  all  the  appurte- 
nances of  the  camp.  It  was  not  a  personal  con- 
tract upon  his  part  to  furnish  these ;  he  was  neither 
to  make  any  money,  nor  to  risk  any;  he  was 
simply  to  render  the  gratuitous  service  of  indu- 
cing the  Pennsylvania  farmers  to  let  out  their 
horses,  wagons,  and  drivers  to  the  general.  It 
was  a  difficult  task,  in  which  the  emissaries  of 
Braddock  had  utterly  failed  in  Virginia.  But 
Franklin  conceived  the  opportunities  to  be  better 
in  his  own  province,  and  entered  on  the  business 
with  vigor  and  skill.  Throughout  the  farming 
region  he  sent  advertisements  and  circulars, 
cleverly  devised  to  elicit  what  he  wanted,  and  so 
phrased  as  to  save  him  harmless  from  personal 
responsibility  for  any  payment.  Seven  days'  pay 
was  to  be  "advanced  and  paid  in  hand"  by  him, 
the  remainder  to  be  paid  by  General  Braddock,  or 
by  the  paymaster  of  the  army.  He  said,  in  clos- 
ing his  appeal:  "I  have  no  particular  interest  in 


54  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

this  affair,  as,  except  the  satisfaction  of  endeavor- 
ing to  do  good,  I  shall  have  only  my  labor  for  my 
pains." 

But  he  was  not  to  get  off  so  easily;  for,  he 
says,  "the  owners,  .  .  .  alleging  that  they  did 
not  know  General  Braddock,  or  what  dependence 
might  be  had  on  his  promise,  insisted  on  my  bond 
for  the  performance,  which  I  accordingly  gave 
them."  This  was  the  more  patriotic  because 
Franklin  was  by  no  means  dazzled  by  the  pomp 
and  parade  of  the  doughty  warrior,  but  on  the 
contrary,  reflecting  on  the  probable  character  of 
the  campaign,  he  had  "conceived  some  doubts  and 
some  fears  for  the  event."  What  happened  every 
one  knows.  The  losses  of  wagons  and  horses  in 
the  slaughter  amounted  to  the  doleful  sum  of 
.£20,000;  "which  to  pay  would  have  ruined  me," 
wrote  Franklin.  Nevertheless  the  demands  began 
at  once  to  pour  in  upon  him,  and  suits  were  insti- 
tuted. It  was  a  grievous  affair,  and  the  end  was 
by  no  means  clear.  It  was  easily  possible  that  in 
place  of  his  fortune,  sacrificed  in  the  public  ser- 
vice, he  might  have  only  the  sorry  substitute  of  a 
claim  against  the  government.  But  after  many 
troubled  weeks  he  was  at  length  relieved  of  the 
heaviest  portion  of  his  burden,  through  General 
Shirley's  appointment  of  a  commission  to  audit 
and  pay  the  claims  for  actual  losses.  Other  sums 
due  him,  representing  considerable  advances  which 
he  had  made  at  the  outset  in  the  business,  and 
later  for  provisions,  remained  unpaid  to  the  end 


A  CITIZEN  OF  PHILADELPHIA  55 

of  his  days.  The  British  government  in  time 
probably  thought  the  Revolution  as  efficient  as  a 
statute  of  limitations  for  barring  that  account 
At  the  moment,  however,  Franklin  not  only  lost 
his  money,  but  had  to  suffer  the  affront  of  being 
supposed  even  to  be  a  gainer,  and  to  have  filled  his 
own  pockets.  He  indignantly  denied  that  he  had 
"pocketed  a  farthing;"  but  of  course  he  was  not 
believed.  He  adds,  with  delicious  humor:  "and, 
indeed,  I  have  since  learnt  that  immense  fortunes 
are  often  made  in  such  employments."  Those, 
however,  were  simple,  provincial  days.  In  place 
of  the  money  which  he  did  not  get,  also  of  the 
further  sum  which  he  actually  lost,  he  had  to  sat- 
isfy himself  with  the  consolation  derived  from  the 
approbation  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  while 
also  Braddock's  dispatches  gave  him  a  good  name 
with  the  officials  in  England,  which  was  of  some 
little  service  to  him. 

A  more  comical  result  of  the  Braddock  affair 
was  that  it  made  Franklin  for  a  time  a  military 
man  and  a  colonel.  He  had  escaped  being  a 
clergyman  and  a  poet,  but  he  could  not  escape  that 
common  fate  of  Americans,  the  military  title,  the 
prevalence  of  which,  it  has  been  said,  makes  "the 
whole  country  seem  a  retreat  of  heroes."  It  befell 
Franklin  in  this  wise:  immediately  after  Brad- 
dock's  defeat,  in  the  panic  which  possessed  the 
people  and  amid  the  reaction  against  professional 
soldiers,  recourse  was  had  to  plain  good  sense, 
though   unaccompanied   by   technical   knowledge. 


56  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

No  one,  as  all  the  province  knew,  had  such  sound 
sense  as  Franklin,  who  was  accordingly  deputed  to 
go  to  the  western  frontier  with  a  small  volunteer 
force,  there  to  build  three  forts  for  the  protection 
of  the  outlying  settlements.  "I  undertook,"  he 
says,  "this  military  business,  though  I  did  not  con- 
ceive myself  well  qualified  for  it."  It  was  a  ser- 
vice involving  much  difficulty  and  hardship,  with 
some  danger ;  General  Braddock  would  have  made 
a  ridiculous  failure  of  it;  Franklin  acquitted  him- 
self well.  What  he  afterward  wrote  of  General 
Shirley  was  true  of  himself:  "For,  tho'  Shirley 
was  not  bred  a  soldier,  he  was  sensible  and  saga- 
cious in  himself,  and  attentive  to  good  advice  from 
others,  capable  of  forming  judicious  plans,  and 
quick  and  active  in  carrying  them  into  execu- 
tion." In  a  word,  Franklin's  military  career  was 
as  creditable  as  it  was  brief.  He  was  called  for- 
ward at  the  crisis  of  universal  dismay;  he  gave 
his  popular  influence  and  cool  head  to  a  peculiar 
kind  of  service,  of  which  he  knew  much  by 
hearsay,  if  nothing  by  personal  experience ;  he  did 
his  work  well;  and,  much  stranger  to  relate,  he 
escaped  the  delusion  that  he  was  a  soldier.  So 
soon  as  he  could  do  so,  that  is  to  say  after  a  few 
weeks,  he  returned  to  his  civil  duties.  But  he  had 
shown  courage,  intelligence,  and  patriotism  in  a 
high  degree,  and  he  had  greatly  increased  the 
confidence  reposed  in  him  by  his  fellow  citizens. 

Beyond  those  active  military  measures  which  the 
exigencies  of  the  time  made  necessary,  Franklin 


A  CITIZEN  OF   PHILADELPHIA  57 

fell  in  with,  if  he  did  not  originate,  a  plan  designed 
to  afford  permanent  protection  in  the  future. 
This  was  to  extend  the  colonies  inland.  His  no- 
tions were  broad,  embracing  much  both  in  space 
and  time.  He  thought  "what  a  glorious  thing  it 
would  be  to  settle  in  that  fine  country  a  large, 
strong  body  of  religious,  industrious  people. 
What  a  security  to  the  other  colonies  and  advan- 
tage to  Britain  by  increasing  her  people,  terri- 
tory, strength,  and  commerce."  He  foretold  that 
"perhaps  in  less  than  another  century"  the  Ohio 
valley  might  "become  a  populous  and  powerful 
dominion,  and  a  great  accession  of  power  either  to 
England  or  France."  Having  this  scheme  much 
at  heart,  he  drew  up  a  sort  of  prospectus  "for  set- 
tling two  western  colonies  in  North  America;" 
"barrier  colonies  "  they  were  called  by  Governor 
Pownall,  who  was  warm  in  the  same  idea,  and  sent 
a  plan  of  his  own,  together  with  Franklin's,  to  the 
home  government. 

It  is  true  that  these  new  settlements,  regarded 
strictly  as  bulwarks,  would  have  been  only  a 
change  of  "barrier,"  an  advancement  of  frontier; 
they  themselves  would  become  frontier  instead  of 
the  present  line,  and  would  be  equally  subject  to 
Indian  and  French  assaults.  Still  the  step  was 
in  the  direction  of  growth  and  expansion ;  it  was 
advancing  and  aggressive,  and  indicated  an  appre- 
ciation of  the  enormous  motive  power  which  lay 
in  English  colonization.  Franklin  pushed  it  ear- 
nestly, interested  others  in  it,  and  seemed  at  one 


58  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

time  on  the  point  of  securing  the  charters.  But 
the  conquest  of  Canada  within  a  very  short  time 
rendered  defensive  colonization  almost  needless, 
and  soon  afterward  the  premonitions  and  actual 
outbreak  of  the  Revolution  put  an  end  to  all 
schemes  in  this  shape. 


CHAPTER   III 

REPRESENTATIVE  OF   PENNSYLVANIA   IN  ENGLAND : 
RETURN   HOME 

It  was  not  possible  to  make  a  world-wide  repu- 
tation in  the  public  affairs  of  the  province  of 
Pennsylvania;  but  so  much  fame  as  opportunity 
would  admit  of  had  by  this  time  been  won  by 
Franklin.  In  respect  of  influence  and  prestige 
among  his  fellow  colonists  none  other  came  near 
to  him.  Meanwhile  among  all  his  crowding  occu- 
pations he  had  found  time  for  those  scientific  re- 
searches towards  which  his  heart  always  yearned. 
He  had  flown  his  famous  kite ;  had  entrapped  the 
lightning  of  the  clouds;  had  written  treatises, 
which,  having  been  collected  into  a  volume,  "  were 
much  taken  notice  of  in  England,"  made  no  small 
stir  in  France,  and  were  "translated  into  the  Ital- 
ian, German,  and  Latin  languages."  A  learned 
French  abbe,  "preceptor  in  natural  philosophy  to 
the  royal  family,  and  an  able  experimenter,"  at 
first  controverted  his  discoveries  and  even  ques- 
tioned his  existence.  But  after  a  little  time  this 
worthy  scientist  became  "assur'd  that  there  really 
existed  such  a  person  as  Franklin  at  Philadel- 
phia,"   while   other   distinguished    scientific   men 


60  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

of  Europe  united  in  the  adoption  of  his  theories. 
Kant  called  him  the  Prometheus  of  modern  times. 
Thus,  in  one  way  and  another,  his  name  had  prob- 
ably already  come  to  be  more  widely  known  than 
that  of  any  other  living  man  who  had  been  born 
on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  It  might  have  been 
even  much  more  famous,  had  he  been  more  free 
to  follow  his  own  bent,  a  pleasure  which  he  could 
only  enjoy  in  a  very  limited  degree.  In  1753  he 
wrote :  "  I  am  so  engaged  in  business,  public  and 
private,  that  those  more  pleasing  pursuits  [phi- 
losophical inquiries]  are  frequently  interrupted, 
and  the  chain  of  thought  necessary  to  be  closely 
continued  in  such  disquisitions  is  so  broken  and 
disjointed  that  it  is  with  difficulty  I  satisfy  myself 
in  any  of  them."  Similar  complaints  occur  fre- 
quently, and  it  is  certain  that  his  extensive  philo- 
sophical labors  were  all  conducted  in  those  mere 
cracks  and  crannies  of  leisure  scantily  interspersed 
amid  the  hours  of  a  man  apparently  overwhelmed 
with  the  functions  of  active  life. 

He  was  now  selected  by  the  Assembly  to  en- 
counter the  perils  of  crossing  the  Atlantic  upon 
an  important  mission  in  behalf  of  his  province. 
For  a  long  while  past  the  relationship  between 
the  Penns,  unworthy  sons  of  the  great  William, 
and  now  the  proprietaries,  on  the  one  side,  and 
their  quasi  subjects,  the  people  of  the  province, 
upon  the  other,  had  been  steadily  becoming  more 
and  more  strained,  until  something  very  like  a 
crisis  had  been  reached.     As  usual  in  English  and 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  ENGLAND  61 

Anglo-American  communities,  it  was  a  quarrel 
over  dollars,  or  rather  over  pounds  sterling,  a 
question  of  taxation,  which  was  producing  the 
alienation.  At  bottom,  there  was  the  trouble 
which  always  pertains  to  absenteeism;  the  pro- 
prietaries lived  in  England,  and  regarded  their 
vast  American  estate,  with  about  200,000  white 
inhabitants,  only  as  a  source  of  revenue.  That 
mercantile  community,  however,  with  the  thrift 
of  Quakers  and  the  independent  temper  of  Eng- 
lishmen, had  a  shrewd  appreciation  of,  and  an  ob- 
stinate respect  for,  its  own  interests.  Hence  the 
discussions,  already  of  threatening  proportions. 

The  chief  point  in  dispute  was,  whether  or  not 
the  waste  lands,  still  directly  owned  by  the  pro- 
prietaries, and  other  lands  let  by  them  at  quit- 
rents,  should  be  taxed  in  the  same  manner  as  like 
property  of  other  owners.  They  refused  to  sub- 
mit to  such  taxation ;  the  Assembly  of  Burgesses 
insisted.  In  ordinary  times  the  proprietaries  pre- 
vailed; for  the  governor  was  their  nominee  and 
removable  at  their  pleasure;  they  gave  him  gen- 
eral instructions  to  assent  to  no  law  taxing  their 
holdings,  and  he  naturally  obeyed  his  masters. 
But  since  governors  got  their  salaries  only  by 
virtue  of  a  vote  of  the  Assembly,  it  seems  that 
they  sometimes  disregarded  instructions,  in  the 
sacred  cause  of  their  own  interests.  After  a 
while,  therefore,  the  proprietaries,  made  shrewd 
by  experience,  devised  the  scheme  of  placing  their 
unfortunate  sub-rulers   under  bonds.     This  went 


v 


62  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

far  towards  settling  the  matter.  Yet  in  such  a 
crisis  and  stress  as  were  now  present  in  the  colony, 
when  exceptionally  large  sums  had  to  be  raised, 
and  great  sacrifices  and  sufferings  endured,  and 
when  little  less  than  the  actual  existence  of  the 
province  might  be  thought  to  be  at  stake,  it  cer- 
tainly seemed  that  the  rich  and  idle  proprietaries 
might  stand  on  the  same  footing  with  their  poor 
and  laboring  subjects.  They  lived  comfortably  in 
England  upon  revenues  estimated  to  amount  to 
the  then  enormous  sum  of  £20,000  sterling;  while 
the  colonists  were  struggling  under  unusual  losses, 
as  well  as  enormous  expenses,  growing  out  of  the 
war  and  Indian  ravages.  At  such  a  time  their 
parsimony,  their  "incredible  meanness,"  as  Frank- 
lin called  it,  was  cruel  as  well  as  stupid.  At  last 
the  Assembly  flatly  refused  to  raise  any  money 
unless  the  proprietaries  should  be  burdened  like 
the  rest.  All  should  pay  together,  or  all  should 
go  to  destruction  together.  The  Penns  too  stood 
obstinate,  facing  the  not  less  resolute  Assembly. 
It  was  indeed  a  deadlock!  Yet  the  times  were 
such  that  neither  party  could  afford  to  maintain 
its  ground  indefinitely.  So  a  temporary  arrange- 
ment was  made,  whereby  of  £60,000  sterling  to 
be  raised  the  proprietaries  agreed  to  contribute 
£5000,  and  the  Assembly  agreed  to  accept  the 
same  in  lieu  or  commutation  for  their  tax.  But 
neither  side  abandoned  its  principle.  Before  long 
more  money  was  needed,  and  the  dispute  was  as 
fierce  as  ever. 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  ENGLAND         .  63 

The  burgesses  now  thought  that  it  would  be 
well  to  carry  a  statement  of  their  case  before  the 
king  in  council  and  the  lords  of  trade.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1757,  they  named  their  speaker,  Isaac  Norris, 
and  Franklin  to  be  their  emissaries  "to  represent 
in  England  the  unhappy  situation  of  the  province," 
and  to  seek  redress  by  an  act  of  Parliament.  Nor- 
ris, an  aged  man,  begged  to  be  excused ;  Franklin 
accepted.  His  son  was  given  leave  of  absence,  in 
order  to  attend  him  as  his  secretary.  During  the 
prolonged  and  bitter  controversies  Franklin  had 
been  the  most  prominent  member  of  the  Assem- 
bly on  the  popular  side.  He  had  drawn  many  of 
the  addresses,  arguments,  and  other  papers;  and 
his  familiarity  with  the  business,  therefore,  no 
less  than  his  good  judgment,  shrewdness,  and  tact 
united  to  point  him  out  as  the  man  for  the  very 
unpleasant  and  difficult  errand. 

A  portion  of  his  business  also  was  to  endeavor 
to  induce  the  king  to  resume  the  province  of  Penn- 
sylvania as  his  own.  A  clause  in  the  charter  had 
reserved  this  right,  which  could  be  exercised  on 
payment  of  a  certain  sum  of  money.  The  colo- 
nists now  preferred  to  be  an  appanage  of  the  crown 
rather  than  a  fief  of  the  Penns.  Oddly  enough, 
some  of  the  provincial  governors  were  suggesting 
the  like  measure  concerning  other  provinces;  but 
from  widely  different  motives.  The  colonists 
thought  a  monarch  better  than  private  individuals, 
as  a  master;  while  the  governors  thought  that 
only  the  royal  authority  could  enforce  their  theory 


64  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

of  colonial  government.  They  angrily  complained 
that  the  colonies  would  do  nothing  voluntarily;  a 
most  unjust  charge,  as  was  soon  to  be  seen;  for 
in  the  Seven  Years'  War  the  colonists  did  three 
quarters  of  all  that  was  done.  What  the  gover- 
nors really  meant  was  that  the  colonies  would  not 
raise  money  and  turn  it  over  to  other  persons  to 
spend  for  them. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  prospects  for 
the  success  of  this  mission  were  not  good.  Almost 
simultaneously  with  Franklin's  appointment,  the 
House  of  Commons  resolved  that  "the  claim  of 
right  in  a  colonial  Assembly  to  raise  and  apply 
public  money,  by  its  own  act  alone,  is  derogatory 
to  the  crown,  and  to  the  rights  of  the  people  of 
Great  Britain."  This  made  Thomas  Penn  jubi- 
lant. "The  people  of  Pennsylvania,"  he  said, 
"will  soon  be  convinced  .  .  .  that  they  have  not 
a  right  to  the  powers  of  government  they  claim."  1 

Franklin  took  his  passage  in  a  packet-ship, 
which  was  to  sail  from  New  York  forthwith.  But 
the  vessel  was  subject  to  the  orders  of  Lord  Lou- 
doun, newly  appointed  governor  of  the  province  of 
New  York,  and  a  sort  of  military  over-lord  over 
all  the  governors,  assemblies,  and  people  of  the 
American  provinces.  His  mission  was  to  organize, 
to  introduce  system  and  submission,  and  above  all 
else  to  overawe.  But  he  was  no  man  for  the  task ; 
not  because  his  lordship  was  not  a  dominant  char- 
acter, but  because  he  was  wholly  unfit  to  transact 
1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  iv.  255. 


REPRESENTATIVE   IN   ENGLAND  65 

business.     Franklin  tried  some  negotiations  with 
him,  and  got  no  satisfaction  or  conclusion. 

The  ship  which  waited  upon  the  will  of  this 
noble  procrastinator  had  a  very  doubtful  future. 
Every  day  at  nine  o'clock  his  lordship  seated  him- 
self at  his  desk,  and  stayed  there  writing  indus- 
triously, hour  after  hour,  upon  his  dispatches; 
every  day  he  foretold  with  much  accuracy  and 
positiveness  of  manner  that  these  would  surely  be 
ready,  and  the  ship  would  inevitably  sail,  on  the 
next  day.  Thus  week  after  week  glided  by,  and 
still  he  uttered  the  same  prediction,  "to-morrow, 
and  to-morrow,  and  to-morrow."  Yet  in  spite  of 
this  wonderful  industry  of  the  great  man  his  let- 
ters never  got  written,  so  that,  says  Franklin,  "it 
was  about  the  beginning  of  April  that  I  came  to 
New  York,  and  I  think  it  was  the  end  of  June 
before  we  sail'd."  Even  then  the  letters  were  not 
ready,  and  for  two  days  the  vessel  had  to  accom- 
pany his  lordship's  fleet  on  the  way  towards  Louis- 
burg,  before  she  got  leave  to  go  upon  her  own 
proper  voyage.  It  is  entertaining  to  hear  that  this 
same  lord,  during  his  stay  in  America,  detained 
other  packets  for  other  letters,  until  their  bottoms 
got  so  foul  and  worm-eaten  that  they  were  unsea- 
worthy.  lie  was  irreverently  likened  by  those 
who  waited  on  his  pleasure  to  "St.  George  on  the 
signs,  always  on  horseback,  and  never  rides  on." 
He  was  at  last  removed  by  Mr.  Pitt,  because  that 
energetic  minister  said  "that  he  never  heard  from 
him,  and  could  not  know  what  was  doing." 


66  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

Escaping  at  last  from  a  detention  more  tedious, 
if  less  romantic,  than  any  which  ever  befell  Ulys- 
ses, Franklin  steered  for  England.  The  vessel 
was  "several  times  chas'd  "  by  French  cruisers, 
and  later  was  actually  within  a  few  lengths  of  be- 
ing wrecked  on  the  Scilly  rocks.  Franklin  wrote 
to  his  wife  that  if  he  were  a  Roman  Catholic 
he  should  probably  vow  a  chapel  to  some  saint; 
but,  as  he  was  not,  he  should  much  like  to  vow  a 
lighthouse.  At  length,  however,  he  came  safely 
into  Falmouth,  and  on  July  27,  1757,  arrived  in 
London. 

Immediately  he  was  taken  to  see  Lord  Gran- 
ville, president  of  the  council;  and  his  account  of 
the  interview  is  too  striking  not  to  be  given  entire. 
His  lordship,  he  says, 
.  "  received  me  with  great  civility ;  and  after  some  ques- 
tions respecting  the  present  state  of  affairs  in  America 
and  discourse  thereupon,  he  said  to  me :  '  You  Americans 
have  wrong  ideas  of  the  nature  of  your  constitution ;  you 
contend  that  the  king's  instructions  to  his  governors  are 
not  laws,  and  think  yourselves  at  liberty  to  regard  or 
disregard  them  at  your  own  discretion.  But  these  in- 
structions are  not  like  the  pocket  instructions  given  to  a 
minister  going  abroad,  for  regulating  his  conduct  on  some 
trifling  point  of  ceremony.  They  are  first  drawn  up  by 
judges  learned  in  the  laws ;  they  are  then  considered, 
debated,  and  perhaps  amended,  in  council,  after  which 
they  are  signed  by  the  king.  They  are  then,  so  far  as 
they  relate  to  you,  the  law  of  the  land,  for  the  king  is 
the  legislator  of  the  colonies.'  I  told  his  lordship  this 
was  new  doctrine  to  me.     I  had  always  understood  from 


REPRESENTATIVE   IN  ENGLAND  67 

our  charters  that  our  laws  were  to  be  made  by  our 
assemblies,  to  be  presented  indeed  to  the  king  for  his 
royal  assent ;  but  that  being  once  given,  the  king  could 
not  repeal  or  alter  them.  And  as  the  assemblies  could 
not  make  permanent  laws  without  his  assent,  so  neither 
could  he  make  a  law  for  them  without  theirs.  He 
assured  me  I  was  totally  mistaken.  I  did  not  think  so, 
however ;  and  his  lordship's  conversation  having  some- 
what alarmed  me  as  to  what  might  be  the  sentiments  of 
the  court  concerning  us,  I  wrote  it  down  as  soon  as  I 
returned  to  my  lodgings."  1 

Granville  also  defended  the  recent  act  of  Par- 
liament laying  "grievous  restrictions  on  the  export 
of  provisions  from  the  British  colonies,"  the  intent 
being  to  distress  the  American  possessions  of 
France  by  famine.  His  lordship  said:  "America 
must  not  do  anything  to  interfere  with  Great 
Britain  in  the  European  markets."  Franklin 
replied:  "If  we  plant  and  reap,  and  must  not 
ship,  your  lordship  should  apply  to  Parliament  for 
transports  to  bring  us  all  back  again." 

Next  came  an  interview  with  the  proprietaries. 
Each  side  declared  itself  disposed  towards  "rea- 
sonable accommodations;  "  but  Franklin  supposed 
that  "each  party  had  its  own  "ideas  of  what  should 
be  meant  by  reasonable."  Nothing  came  of  all 
this  palaver;  which  only  meant  that  time  was  being 
wasted  to  no  better  purpose  than  to  show  that  the 
two  parties  were  "very  wide,  and  so  far  from  each 

1  Works,  i.  295,  296;  see  also  an  account,  substantially  the 
same,  in  letter  to  Bowdoin,  January  13,  1772. 


68  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

other  in  [their]  opinions  as  to  discourage  all  hope  of 
agreement."  But  this  had  long  been  evident.  The 
lawyer  of  the  proprietaries  was  then  put  forward. 
He  was  a  "proud,  angry  man,"  with  a  "mortal 
enmity"  toward  Franklin;  for  the  two  had  ex- 
changed buffets  more  than  once  already,  and  the 
"proud  angry  man"  had  been  hit  hard.  It  had 
been  his  professional  duty,  as  counsel  for  the 
Penns,  to  prepare  many  papers  to  be  used  by  their 
governor  in  the  course  of  their  quarrels  with  the 
Assembly.  It  had  usually  fallen  to  Franklin's 
lot  to  draft  the  replies  of  the  Assembly,  and  by 
Franklin's  own  admission  these  documents  of  his, 
like  those  which  they  answered,  were  "often  tart 
and  sometimes  indecently  abusive."  Franklin 
now  found  his  old  antagonist  so  excited  that  it 
seemed  best  to  refuse  to  have  any  direct  dealings 
with  him. 

The  proprietaries  then  put  their  interests  in 
charge  of  Attorney-General  Pratt,  afterwards 
Lord  Camden,  and  the  Solicitor-General  Charles 
Yorke,  afterward  lord  chancellor.  These  legal 
luminaries  consumed  "a  year,  wanting  eight  days  " 
before  they  were  in  a  condition  to  impart  light; 
and  during  that  period  Franklin  could  of  course 
achieve  nothing  with  the  proprietaries.  After  all, 
the  proprietaries  ignored  and  insulted  him,  and 
made  further  delay  by  sending  a  message  to  the 
Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  wherein  they  com- 
plained of  Franklin's  "rudeness,"  and  professed 
themselves  "willing  to  accommodate  matters,"  if 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  ENGLAND  69 

a  "person  of  candour"  should  be  sent  to  treat 
with  them.  The  only  reply  to  their  message  came 
in  the  pointed  and  intelligible  shape  of  an  act 
"taxing  the  proprietary  estate  in  common  with  the 
estates  of  the  people."  Much  disturbed,  the  pro- 
prietaries now  obtained  a  hearing  before  the  king 
in  council.  They  requested  his  majesty  to  set 
aside  this  tax  act,  and  several  other  acts  which 
had  been  passed  within  two  years  by  the  Assembly. 
Of  these  other  acts  some  were  repealed,  according 
to  the  prayer  of  the  proprietaries;  but  more  were 
allowed  to  stand.  These  were,  however,  of  com- 
paratively little  consequence;  the  overshadowing 
grievance  for  the  Penns  lay  in  this  taxation  of 
their  property.  Concerning  this  it  was  urged  by 
their  counsel  that  the  proprietaries  were  held  in 
such  odium  by  the  people  that,  if  left  to  the  popu- 
lar "mercy  in  apportioning  the  taxes,  they  would 
be  ruined."  The  other  side,  of  course,  vehemently 
denied  that  there  was  the  slightest  ground  for  such 
a  suspicion. 

In  June,  1760,  the  board  of  trade  rendered  a 
report  very  unfavorable  to  the  Assembly.  Their 
language  showed  that  they  had  been  much  affected 
by  the  appearance  of  popular  encroachments,  and 
by  the  allegations  of  an  intention  on  the  part  of 
the  colonists  "to  establish  a  democracy  in  place  of 
his  majesty's  government."  Their  advice  was  to 
bring  "the  constitution  back  to  its  proper  prin- 
ciples ;  to  restore  to  the  crown,  in  the  person  of  the 
proprietaries,   its   just  prerogative;  to   check   the 


70  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

growing  influence  of  assemblies,  by  distinguishing, 
what  they  are  perpetually  confounding,  the  exec- 
utive from  the  legislative  power."  News  of  this 
alarming  document  reached  Franklin  just  as  he 
was  about  to  start  upon  a  trip  through  Ireland. 
It  put  an  end  to  that  pleasure ;  he  had  to  set  to 
work  on  the  moment,  with  all  the  zeal  and  by  all 
the  means  he  could  compass,  to  counteract  this 
fulmination.  Just  how  he  achieved  so  difficult  an 
end  is  not  recorded;  but  it  appears  that  he  suc- 
ceeded in  securing  a  further  hearing,  in  the  pro- 
gress of  which  Lord  Mansfield  "rose,  and  beckon- 
ing me,  took  me  into  the  clerk's  chambers,  .  .  . 
and  asked  me,  if  I  was  really  of  opinion  that  no 
injury  would  be  done  to  the  proprietary  estate  in 
the  execution  of  the  act.  I  said:  Certainly. 
4  Then,'  says  he,  '  you  can  have  little  objection  to 
enter  into  an  engagement  to  assure  that  point. ' 
I  answered:  None  at  all."  Thereupon  a  paper 
of  this  purport,  binding  personally  upon  Franklin 
and  upon  Mr.  Charles,  the  resident  agent  of  the 
province,  was  drawn  up,  and  was  duly  executed 
by  them  both ;  and  on  August  28  the  lords  filed 
an  amended  report,  in  which  they  said  that  the 
act  taxing  the  proprietary  estates  upon  a  common 
basis  with  those  of  other  owners  was  "fundamen- 
tally wrong  and  unjust  and  ought  to  be  repealed, 
unless  six  certain  amendments  were  made  therein." 
These  amendments  were,  in  substance,  the  under- 
takings entered  into  in  the  bond  of  the  colonial 
agents.     Franklin  soon  afterward  had  occasion  to 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  ENGLAND  71 

review  this  whole  business.  He  showed  that  of  the 
six  amendments,  five  were  immaterial,  since  they 
only  expressed  with  greater  clearness  the  intent  of 
the  Assembly.  He  admitted  that  the  sixth  was 
of  more  consequence.  It  seems  that  £100,000 
had  been  voted,  appropriated,  raised,  and  ex- 
pended, chiefly  for  the  defense  of  the  colony.  The 
manner  of  doing  this  was  to  issue  paper  money  to 
this  amount,  to  make  it  legal  tender,  and  then  to 
retire  it  by  the  proceeds  of  the  tax  levy.  The 
proprietaries  insisted  that  they  could  not  be  com- 
pelled to  receive  their  rents  in  this  money,  and 
the  lords  now  found  for  them.  Franklin  acknow- 
ledged that  herein  perhaps  the  lords  were  right  and 
the  Assembly  wrong;  but  he  added  this  scathing 
paragraph :  — 

"  But  if  he  cannot  on  these  considerations  quite  ex- 
cuse the  Assembly,  what  will  he  think  of  those  honour- 
able proprietaries,  who,  when  paper  money  was  issued 
in  their  colony  for  the  common  defense  of  their  vast 
estates  with  those  of  the  people,  could  nevertheless  wish 
to  be  exempted  from  their  share  of  the  unavoidable  dis- 
advantages. Is  there  upon  earth  a  man  besides,  with 
any  conception  of  what  is  honest,  with  any  notion  of 
honor,  with  the  least  tincture  in  his  veins  of  the  gentle- 
man, but  would  have  blushed  at  the  thought,  but  would 
have  rejected  with  disdain  such  undue  preference,  if  it 
had  been  offered  him  ?  Much  less  would  he  have  strug- 
gled for  it,  moved  heaven  and  earth  to  obtain  it,  resolved 
to  ruin  thousands  of  his  tenants  by  a  repeal  of  the  act, 
rather  than  miss  of  it,  and  enforce  it  afterwards  by  an 


72  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

audaciously  wicked  instruction,  forbidding  aids  to  his 
king,  and  exposing  the  province  to  destruction,  unless 
it  was  complied  with.     And  yet,  these  are  honourable 

men !  " 

This  was,  however,  altogether  a  subordinate 
issue.  The  struggle  had  really  been  conducted  to 
determine  whether  the  proprietary  estate  should  be 
taxed  like  other  estates,  and  the  decision  upheld 
such  taxation.  This  was  a  complete  triumph  for 
the  Assembly  and  their  representative.  "But  let 
the  proprietaries  and  their  discreet  deputies  here- 
after recollect  and  remember,"  said  Franklin, 
"that  the  same  august  tribunal,  which  censured 
some  of  the  modes  and  circumstances  of  that  act, 
did  at  the  same  time  establish  and  confirm  the 
grand  principle  of  the  act,  namely:  'That  the  pro- 
prietary estate  ought,  with  other  estates,  to  be 
taxed; '  and  thereby  did,  in  effect,  determine  and 
pronounce  that  the  opposition  so  long  made  in 
various  shapes  to  that  just  principle,  by  the  pro- 
prietaries, was  '  fundamentally  wrong  and  m- 
jtutf" 

It  was  a  long  while  before  the  Assembly  found 
leisure  to  attend  to  that  engagement  of  their  agents 
which  stipulated  for  an  investigation  to  see  whether 
the  proprietaries  had  not  been  unduly  and  exces- 
sively assessed.  But  at  length,  after  having  had 
the  spur  of  reminder  constantly  applied  to  their 
laggard  memories,  they  appointed  a  committee  to 
inquire  and  report  concerning  the  valuations  made 
by  the  tax-gatherers. 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  ENGLAND  73 

This  committee  reported  that  — 
"  there  has  not  been  any  injustice  done  to  the  proprie- 
taries, or  attempts  made  to  rate  or  assess  any  part  of 
their  estates  higher  than  the  estates  of  the  like  kind  be- 
longing to  the  inhabitants  are  rated  and  assessed ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  .  .  .  their  estates  are  rated,  in  many 
instances,  below  others." 

So  the  matter  ended. 

Franklin  had  been  detained  a  little  more  than 
three  years  about  this  business.  At  its  conclusion 
he  anticipated  a  speedy  return  home ;  but  he  had 
to  stay  yet  two  years  more  to  attend  to  sundry 
matters  smaller  in  importance,  but  which  were  ad- 
vanced almost  as  slowly.  Partly  such  delay  was 
because  the  aristocrats  of  the  board  of  trade  and 
the  privy  council  had  not  the  habits  of  business 
men,  but  consulted  their  own  noble  convenience 
in  the  transaction  of  affairs;  and  partly  it  was 
because  procrastination  was  purposely  employed 
by  his  opponents,  who  harassed  him  and  blocked 
his  path  by  every  obstacle,  direct  and  indirect, 
which  they  could  put  in  his  way.  For  they  seemed 
to  hope  for  some  turn  in  affairs,  some  event,  or 
some  too  rapid  advance  of  the  popular  party  in 
America,  which  should  arouse  the  royal  resentment 
against  the  colonists  and  so  militate  on  their  side. 
Delay  was  easily  brought  about  by  them.  They 
had  money,  connections,  influence,  and  that  famil- 
iarity with  men  and  ways  which  came  from  their 
residence  in  England;  while  Franklin,  a  stranger 
on  an  unpopular  errand,   representing  before  an 


74  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

aristocratic  government  a  parcel  of  tradespeople 
and  farmers  who  lived  in  a  distant  land  and  were 
charged  with  being  both  niggardly  and  disaffected, 
found  that  he  could  make  only  difficult  and  uncer- 
tain progress.  He  was  like  one  who  sails  a  race 
not  only  against  hostile  winds  and  tides,  but  also 
in  strange  waters  where  the  shoals  and  rocks  are 
unknown,  and  where  invisible  currents  ceaselessly 
baffle  his  course.  His  lack  of  personal  importance 
hampered  him  exasperatingly.  Thus  during  his 
prolonged  stay  he  repeatedly  made  every  effort  in 
his  power  to  obtain  an  audience  of  William  Pitt. 
But  not  even  for  once  could  he  succeed.  A  pro- 
vincial agent,  engaged  in  a  squabble  about  taxing 
proprietary  lands,  was  too  small  a  man  upon  too 
small  a  business  to  consume  the  precious  time  of 
the  great  prime  minister,  who  was  endeavoring 
to  dominate  the  embroilments  and  intrigues  of  all 
Europe,  to  say  nothing  of  the  machinations  of  his 
opponents  at  home.  So  the  subalterns  of  Mr.  Pitt 
met  Franklin,  heard  what  he  had  to  say,  sifted  it 
through  the  sieve  of  their  own  discretion,  and  bore 
to  the  ears  of  their  principal  only  such  compends 
as  they  thought  worthy  of  attention. 

But  the  vexation  of  almost  endless  delay  had  its 
alleviations,  apparently  much  more  than  enough 
to  offset  it.  Early  in  September,  1757,  that  is 
to  say  some  five  or  six  weeks  after  his  landing, 
Franklin  was  taken  very  ill  of  an  intermittent 
fever,  which  lasted  for  eight  weeks.  During  his 
convalescence  he  wrote  to  his  wife  that  the  agree- 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  ENGLAND  75 

able  conversation  of  men  of  learning,  and  the 
notice  taken  of  him  by  persons  of  distinction, 
soothed  him  under  this  painful  absence  from  fam- 
ily and  friends;  yet  these  solaces  would  not  hold 
him  there  another  week,  were  it  not  for  duty  to 
his  country  and  the  hope  of  being  able  to  do  it 
service.  But  after  the  early  homesickness  wore 
off,  a  great  attachment  for  England  took  its  place. 
He  found  himself  a  man  of  note  among  scientists 
there,  who  gave  him  a  ready  welcome  and  showed 
a  courteous  and  flattering  recognition  of  his  high 
distinction  in  their  pursuits.  Thence  it  was  easy 
to  penetrate  into  the  neighboring  circle  of  litera- 
ture, wherein  he  made  warm  personal  friends, 
such  as  Lord  Karnes,  David  Hume,  Dr.  Robertson, 
and  others.  From  time  to  time  he  was  a  guest  at 
many  a  pleasant  country  seat,  and  at  the  univer- 
sities. He  found  plenty  of  leisure,  too,  for  travel, 
and  explored  the  United  Kingdom  very  thoroughly. 
When  he  went  to  Edinburgh  he  was  presented 
with  the  freedom  of  the  city;  and  the  University 
of  St.  Andrews  conferred  on  him  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Laws ;  later,  Oxford  did  the  same.  He 
even  had  time  for  a  trip  into  the  Low  Countries. 
As  months  and  finally  years  slipped  away,  with 
just  enough  of  occupation  of  a  dignified  character 
to  save  him  from  an  annoying  sense  of  idleness, 
with  abundant  opportunities  for  social  pleasure, 
and  with  a  very  gratifying  deference  shown 
towards  himself,  Franklin,  who  liked  society  and 
did  not  dislike  flattery,  began  to  think  the  mother 


76  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

country  no  such  bad  place.  For  an  intellectual 
and  social  career  London  certainly  had  advan- 
tages over  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Strahan,  the  well- 
known  publisher  of  those  days,  whom  Franklin 
used  affectionately  to  call  Straney,  became  his 
close  friend,  and  was  very  insistent  with  him  that 
he  should  leave  the  provinces  and  take  up  a 
permanent  residence  in  England.  He  baited  his 
hook  with  an  offer  of  his  son  in  marriage  with 
Franklin's  daughter  Sarah.  He  had  never  seen 
Sarah,  but  he  seems  to  have  taken  it  for  granted 
that  any  child  of  her  father  must  be  matrimonially 
satisfactory.  Franklin  wrote  home  to  his  wife 
that  the  young  man  was  eligible,  and  that  there 
were  abundant  funds  in  the  Strahan  treasury,  but 
that  he  did  not  suppose  that  she  would  be  able  to 
overcome  her  terror  of  the  ocean  voyage.  Indeed, 
this  timidity  on  the  part  of  his  wife  was  more  than 
once  put  forward  by  him  as  if  it  were  really  the 
feather  which  turned  the  scale  in  the  choice  of  his 
future  residence. 

Franklin  himself  also  was  trying  his  hand  at 
match-making.  He  had  taken  a  great  fancy  to  a 
young  lady  by  the  name  of  Mary  Stevenson,  with 
whom,  when  distance  prevented  their  meeting,  he 
kept  up  a  constant  correspondence  concerning 
points  of  physical  science.  He  now  became  very 
pressing  with  his  son  William  to  wed  this  learned 
maiden ;  but  the  young  man  possibly  did  not  hold 
a  taste  for  science  to  be  the  most  winning  trait  in 
woman;  at  any  rate,  having  bestowed  his  affec- 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  ENGLAND  77 

tions  elsewhere,  lie  refused  to  transfer  them.  So 
Franklin  was  compelled  to  give  up  his  scheme, 
though  with  an  extreme  reluctance,  which  he 
expressed  to  the  rejected  damsel  with  amusing 
openness.  Had  either  of  these  matrimonial  bonds 
been  made  fast,  it  is  not  improbable  that  Franklin 
would  have  lived  out  the  rest  of  his  life  as  a  friend 
of  the  colonies  in  England.  But  his  lot  was 
otherwise  cast;  a  second  time  he  escaped,  though 
narrowly,  the  prospect  of  dying  an  Englishman 
and  the  subject  of  a  king.  At  the  moment  he  was 
not  altogether  glad  that  matters  worked  thus.  On 
August  17,  1762,  he  wrote  from  Portsmouth  to 
Lord  Karnes :  — 

"  I  am  now  waiting  here  only  for  a  wind  to  waft  me 
to  America ;  but  cannot  leave  this  happy  island  and  my 
friends  in  it  without  extreme  regret,  though  I  am  going 
to  a  country  and  a  people  that  I  love.  I  am  going  from 
the  old  world  to  the  new  ;  and  I  fancy  I  feel  like  those 
who  are  leaving  this  world  for  the  next :  grief  at  the 
parting ;  fear  of  the  passage  ;  hope  of  the  future.  These 
different  passions  all  affect  their  minds  at  once ;  and 
these  have  tendered  me  down  exceedingly." 

And  six  days  later,  from  the  same  place,  he 
wrote  to  Strahan:  "I  cannot,  I  assure  you,  quit 
even  this  disagreeable  place,  without  regret,  as  it 
carries  me  still  farther  from  those  I  love,  and  from 
the  opportunities  of  hearing  of  their  welfare.  The 
attraction  of  reason  is  at  present  for  the  other 
side  of  the  water,  but  that  of  inclination  will  be 
for  this  side.     You  know  which  usually  prevails. 


78  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

I  shall  probably  make  but  this  one  vibration  and 
settle  here  forever.  Nothing  will  prevent  it,  if  I 
can,  as  I  hope  I  can,  prevail  with  Mrs.  F.  to 
accompany  me,  especially  if  we  have  a  peace." 
Apparently  the  Americans  owe  a  great  debt  of 
gratitude  to  Mrs.  Franklin's  fearfulness  of  the 
untrustworthy  Atlantic. 

Before  dismissing  this  stay  of  Franklin  in  Eng- 
land a  word  should  be  said  concerning  his  efforts 
for  the  retention  of  Canada  by  the  British,  as 
spoils  of  war.  The  fall  of  Quebec,  in  the  autumn 
of  1759,  practically  concluded  the  struggle  in 
America.  The  French  were  utterly  spent;  they 
had  no  food,  no  money;  they  had  fought  with  de- 
sperate courage  and  heroic  self-devotion ;  they  could 
honestly  say  that  they  had  stood  grimly  in  the  last 
trench,  and  had  been  slaughtered  there  until  the 
starved  and  shattered  remnant  could  not  find  it  in 
their  exhausted  human  nature  longer  to  conduct 
a  contest  so  thoroughly  finished.  In  Europe, 
France  was  hardly  less  completely  beaten.  At 
the  same  time  the  singular  position  of  affairs 
existed  that  the  triumphant  conqueror  was  even 
more  resolutely  bent  upon  immediate  peace  than 
were  the  conquered.  George  III.,  newly  come  to 
the  throne,  set  himself  towards  this  end  with  all 
the  obstinacy  of  his  resolute  nature.  It  became 
a  question  of  terms,  and  eager  was  the  discussion 
thereof.  The  colonies  were  profoundly  interested, 
for  a  question  sharply  argued  was :  whether  Eng- 
land should  retain  Guadaloupe  or  Canada.     She 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  ENGLAND  79 

had  conquered  both,  but  it  seemed  to  be  admitted 
that  she  must  restore  one.  It  was  even  then  a 
comical  bit  of  political  mathematics  to  establish 
anything  like  an  equation  between  the  two,  nor 
could  it  possibly  have  been  done  with  reference  to 
intrinsic  values.  It  was  all  very  well  to  dilate 
upon  the  sugar  crop  of  the  island,  its  trade,  its 
fertility,  its  harborage.  Every  one  knew  that 
Canada  could  outweigh  all  these  things  fifty  times 
over.  But  into  the  Guadaloupe  scale  was  dropped 
a  weighty  consideration,  which  was  clearly  stated 
in  an  anonymous  pamphlet  attributed  to  William 
Burke.     This  writer  said :  — 

"  If  the  people  of  our  colonies  find  no  check  from 
Canada,  they  will  extend  themselves  almost  without 
bound  into  the  inland  parts.  They  will  increase  infi- 
nitely from  all  causes.  What  the  consequence  will  be, 
to  have  a  numerous,  hardy,  independent  people,  possessed 
of  a  strong  country,  communicating  little  or  not  at  all 
with  England,  I  leave  to  your  own  reflections.  By 
eagerly  grasping  at  extensive  territory  we  may  run  the 
risk,  and  in  no  very  distant  period,  of  losing  what  we 
now  possess.  A  neighbor  that  keeps  us  in  some  awe  is 
not  always  the  worst  of  neighbors.  So  that,  far  from 
sacrificing  Guadaloupe  to  Canada,  perhaps,  if  we  might 
have  Canada  without  any  sacrifice  at  all,  we  ought  not 
to  desire  it.  There  should  be  a  balance  of  power  in 
America.  .  .  .  The  islands,  from  their  weakness,  can 
never  revolt;  but,  if  we  acquire  all  Canada,  we  shall 
soon  find  North  America  itself  too  powerful  and  too 
populous  to  be  governed  by  us  at  a  distance." 


80  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

From  many  other  quarters  came  the  same  warn- 
ing predictions.1 

Franklin  watched  the  controversy  with  deep 
interest  and  no  small  anxiety.  As  the  argument 
grew  heated  he  could  no  longer  hold  his  hand ;  he 
cast  into  the  Canadian  scale  an  able  pamphlet, 
ingenuous  in  the  main  if  not  in  all  the  details.  It 
is  not  worth  while  to  rehearse  what  he  had  to  say 
upon  mercantile  points,  or  even  concerning  the 
future  growth  of  a  great  American  empire.  What 
he  had  really  to  encounter  was  the  argument  that 
it  was  sound  policy  to  leave  Canada  in  possession 
of  the  French.  Those  who  pretended  to  want 
Guadaloupe  did  not  so  much  really  want  it  as  they 
did  wish  to  have  Canada  remain  French.  To 
make  good  this  latter  point  they  had  to  show,  first, 
that  French  ownership  involved  no  serious  danger 
to  the  English  possessions:  second,  that  it  brought 
positive  advantages.  To  the  first  proposition  they 
said  that  the  French  had  fully  learned  their  les- 
son of  inferiority,  and  that  a  few  forts  on  the 
frontier  would  easily  overawe  the  hostile  Indians. 
To  the  second  proposition,  they  elaborated  the  argu- 
ments of  William  Burke.  Franklin  replied  that 
the  war-parties  of  braves  would  easily  pass  by  the 
forts  in  the  forests,  and  after  burning,  pillaging, 
murdering,  and  scalping,  would  equally  easily 
and  safely  return.  Nothing  save  a  Chinese  wall 
the  whole  length  of  the  western  frontier  would 
suffice  for  protection  against  savages.  Then,  with 
1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  iv.  363-365. 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  ENGLAND  81 

one  of  those  happy  illustrations  of  which  he  was 
a  master,  he  said :  "  In  short,  long  experience  has 
taught  our  planters  that  they  cannot  rely  upon 
forts  as  a  security  against  Indians ;  the  inhabitants 
of  Hackney  might  as  well  rely  upon  the  Tower  of 
London,  to  secure  them  against  highwaymen  and 
house-breakers."  The  admirable  simile  could  nei- 
ther be  answered  nor  forgotten. 

Concerning  the  positive  desirability  of  leaving 
the  French  as  masters  of  Canada  to  "check  "  the 
growth  of  the  colonies,  Franklin  indignantly  ex- 
claimed: "It  is  a  modest  word,  this  '  check"*  for 
massacring  men,  women,  and  children!  "  If  Can- 
ada is  to  be  "restored  on  this  principle,  .  .  .  will 
not  this  be  telling  the  French  in  plain  terms,  that 
the  horrid  barbarisms  they  perpetrate  with  Indians 
on  our  colonists  are  agreeable  to  us;  and  that  they 
need  not  apprehend  the  resentment  of  a  govern- 
ment with  whose  views  they  so  happily  concur. " 
But  he  had  the  audacity  to  say  that  he  was  abun- 
dantly certain  that  the  mother  country  could  never 
have  any  occasion  to  dread  the  power  of  the  colo- 
nies.    He  said:  — 

"  I  shall  next  consider  the  other  supposition,  that  their 
growth  may  render  them  dangerous.  Of  this,  I  own, 
I  have  not  the  least  conception,  when  I  consider  that 
we  have  already  fourteen  separate  governments  on  the 
maritime  coast  of  the  continent ;  and,  if  we  extend  our 
settlements,  shall  probably  have  as  many  more  behind 
them  on  the  inland  side."  By  reason  of  the  different 
governors,    laws,    interests,    religions,   and  manners   of 


82  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

these,  "their  jealousy  of  each  other  is  so  great,  that, 
however  necessary  a  union  of  the  colonies  has  long  been, 
for  their  common  defence  and  security  against  their 
enemies,  and  how  sensible  soever  each  colony  has  been 
of  that  necessity,  yet  they  have  never  been  able  to  effect 
such  a  union  among  themselves,  nor  even  to  agree  in  re- 
questing the  mother  country  to  establish  it  for  them." 
If  they  could  not  unite  for  self-defence  against  the 
French  and  the  murderous  savages,  "  can  it  reasonably 
be  supposed  there  is  any  danger  of  their  uniting  against 
their  own  nation,  which  protects  and  encourages  them, 
with  which  they  have  so  many  connexions  and  ties  of 
blood,  interest,  and  affection,  and  which,  it  is  well 
known,  they  all  love  much  more  than  they  love  one 
another  ? 

"  In  short  there  are  so  many  causes  that  must  operate 
to  prevent  it,  that  I  will  venture  to  say  a  union  amongst 
them  for  such  a  purpose  is  not  merely  improbable,  it  is 
impossible.  And  if  the  union  of  the  whole  is  impossible, 
the  attempt  of  a  part  must  be  madness.  .  .  .  When  I 
say  such  a  union  is  impossible,  I  mean  without  the  most 
grievous  tyranny  and  oppression.  .  .  .  The  waves  do 
not  rise  but  when  the  winds  blow.  .  .  .  What  such  an 
administration  as  the  Duke  of  Alva's  in  the  Netherlands 
might  produce,  I  know  not ;  but  this,  I  think,  I  have  a 
right  to  deem  impossible." 

We  read  these  words,  even  subject  to  the  mild 
saving  of  the  final  sentences,  with  some  bewilder- 
ment. Did  their  shrewd  and  well-informed  writer 
believe  what  he  said  ?  Was  he  casting  this  politi- 
cal horoscope  in  good  faith?  Or  was  he  only 
uttering  a  prophecy  which  he  desired,  if  possible, 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN   ENGLAND  83 

and  for  his  own  purposes  to  induce  others  to  be- 
lieve? If  he  was  in  earnest,  Attorney-General 
Pratt  was  a  better  astrologer.  "For  all  what  you 
Americans  say  of  your  loyalty,"  he  said  to  Frank- 
lin, "and  notwithstanding  your  boasted  affection, 
you  will  one  day  set  up  for  independence."  "No 
such  idea,"  said  Franklin,  "is  entertained  by  the 
Americans,  or  ever  will  be,  unless  you  grossly 
abuse  them."  "Very  true,"  said  Pratt;  "that  I 
see  will  happen,  and  will  produce  the  event."1 
Choiseul,  the  able  French  minister,  expressed  his 
wonder  that  the  "great  Pitt  should  be  so  attached 
to  the  acquisition  of  Canada,"  which,  being  in  the 
hands  of  France,  would  keep  the  "colonies  in 
that  dependence  which  they  will  not  fail  to  shake 
off  the  moment  Canada  shall  be  ceded."2  Ver- 
gennes  saw  the  same  thing  not  less  clearly;  and 
so  did  many  another. 

If  Franklin  was  really  unable  to  foresee  in  this 
business  those  occurrences  which  others  predicted 
with  such  confidence,  at  least  he  showed  a  grand 
conception  of  the  future,  and  his  vision  took  in 
more  distant  and  greater  facts  and  larger  truths 
of  statesmanship  than  were  compassed  by  the  Brit- 
ish ministers.  Witness  what  he  wrote  to  Lord 
Karnes :  — 

"  I  have  long  been  of  opinion  that  the  foundations  of 
the  future  grandeur  and  stability  of  the  British  empire 
lie  in  America.  ...  I  am  therefore  by  no  means  for 
restoring  Canada.     If  we  keep  it,  all  the  country  from 

1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  iv.  380.  2  Ibid.  iv.  399. 


84  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Mississippi  will  in  another  cen- 
tury be  filled  with  British  people.  Britain  itself  will 
become  vastly  more  populous  by  the  immense  increase 
to  its  commerce ;  the  Atlantic  sea  will  be  covered  with 
your  trading  ships  ;  and  your  naval  power,  thence  con- 
tinually increasing,  will  extend  your  influence  round  the 
whole  globe,  and  awe  the  world." 

Whatever  regret  Franklin  may  have  felt  at  not 
being  able  to  remain  in  England  was  probably 
greatly  mitigated  if  not  entirely  dissipated  by  the 
cordial  reception  which  he  met  with  at  home.  On 
December  2,  1762,  he  wrote  to  Strahan  that  the 
reports  of  the  diminution  of  his  friends  were  all 
false;  that  ever  since  his  arrival  his  house  had 
been  full  of  a  succession  of  them  from  morning 
till  night,  congratulating  him  on  his  return.  The 
Assembly  honored  him  with  a  vote  of  thanks,  and 
also  voted  him  £3000  towards  defraying  his  ex- 
penses. It  was,  of  course,  much  less  than  he  had 
expended  during  an  absence  of  nearly  six  years ; 
but  it  seems  that  he  considered  that,  since  much  of 
his  time  had  been  passed  in  the  enjoyment  of  an 
agreeable  leisure,  he  should  bear  a  corresponding 
part  of  the  expense.  While  on  the  sea  he  had 
been  chosen  unanimously,  as  indeed  had  been  done 
in  each  year  of  his  absence,  a  member  of  that 
body;  and  he  was  told  that,  if  he  had  not  got  so 
privately  into  town,  he  should  have  been  met  by 
an  escort  of  500  horsemen.  All  this  must  have 
been  very  gratifying. 

A  different  kind  of  tribute,  somewhat  indirect, 


'fS^^u? 


Of 


the 


UNIVERSITY 


<LifQ\ 


REPRESENTATIVE   IN  ENGLAND  85 

but  none  the  less  intelligible,  was  at  the  same  time 
paid  to  him  by  the  British  government.  In  the 
autumn  of  1762  his  illegitimate  son,  William 
Franklin,  was  appointed  governor  of  New  Jersey. 
This  act  created  a  great  storm  of  wrath  from  some 
of  the  provincial  aristocratic  party,  and  was  ve- 
hemently railed  at  as  an  " indignity,"  a  "dishonor 
and  disgrace,"  an  "insult."  After  all,  it  failed 
of  its  obvious  purpose.  The  government  shot 
brought  down  the  wrong  bird,  common  carrion, 
while  the  one  aimed  at  never  swerved  in  the  slight- 
est from  his  course.  William,  whom  no  one  cared 
for  in  the  least,  became  a  confirmed  royalist,  and 
ultimately,  as  a  Tory  refugee,  for  years  continued 
to  absorb  a  pension  for  which  he  could  return 
no  adequate  consideration.  So  far  as  Benjamin 
Franklin  was  concerned,  he'  was  at  first  much 
pleased;  but  his  political  views  and  course  were 
not  in  the  slightest  degree  affected.  On  the  con- 
trary, as  the  scheme  developed,  and  the  influence 
on  the  younger  man  became  apparent,  the  final 
result  was  an  alienation  between  father  and  son, 
which  was  only  partially  healed  so  late  as  1784, 
just  before  the  former  returned  from  Europe  for 
the  last  time. 


CHAPTER   IV 

LIFE   IN   PHILADELPHIA 

When  Franklin  came  home  he  was  fifty-six 
years  old.  By  nature  he  was  physically  indolent, 
and  fifteen  years  ago  he  had  given  proof  of  his  de- 
sire for  the  command  of  his  own  time  by  retiring 
from  a  lucrative  business.  But  his  forecasting 
of  a  tranquil,  social  career  in  Philadelphia,  with 
science  as  his  chief  and  agreeable  occupation,  was 
still  to  continue  a  day-dream,  interrupted  only  by 
some  thoughts  of  an  English  home.  "Business, 
public  and  private,  consumes  all  my  time;  I  must 
return  to  England  for  repose.  With  such  thoughts 
I  flatter  myself,  and  need  some  kind  friend  to  put 
me  often  in  mind  that  old  trees  cannot  safely  be 
transplanted."  Thus  he  wrote  to  Mary  Steven- 
son, the  young  lady  whom  he  had  hoped  to  have 
as  a  daughter-in-law. 

His  first  labor  in  the  provinces  came  in  the 
shape  of  a  journey  about  the  country  to  supervise 
and  regulate  the  postal  business.  Upon  this 
errand  he  went  1600  miles,  which  was  no  slight 
matter  as  travel  was  conducted  in  those  days.  He 
started  in  the  spring  of  1763,  and  did  not  get  back 
until  November.     Upon  his  return  he  found  him- 


LIFE  IN  PHILADELPHIA  87 

self  at  once  immersed  in  public  affairs.  In  Oc- 
tober, 1763,  Governor  Hamilton  was  superseded 
by  John  Penn,  nephew  of  the  proprietary  Thomas 
Penn. 

"  Never,"  said  Franklin,  "  did  any  administration 
open  with  a  more  promising  prospect  than  this  of  Gov- 
ernor Penn.  He  assured  the  people  in  his  first  speeches 
of  the  proprietaries'  paternal  regard  for  them,  and  their 
sincere  dispositions  to  do  everything  that  might  promote 
their  happiness.  As  the  proprietaries  had  been  pleased 
to  promote  a  son  of  the  family  to  the  government,  it  was 
thought  not  unlikely  that  there  might  be  something  in 
these  professions ;  for  that  they  would  probably  choose 
to  have  his  administration  made  easy  and  agreeable,  and 
to  that  end  might  think  it  prudent  to  withdraw  those 
harsh,  disagreeable,  and  unjust  instructions,  with  which 
most  of  his  predecessors  had  been  hampered.  The  As- 
sembly therefore  believed  fully  and  rejoiced  sincerely. 
They  showed  the  new  governor  every  mark  of  respect 
and  regard  that  was  in  their  power.  They  readily  and 
cheerfully  went  into  everything  he  recommended  to 
them." 

Moreover,  the  first  event  of  public  importance 
after  Governor  Penn's  advent  had,  in  its  early 
stage,  the  effect  of  drawing  him  very  closely  to 
Franklin.  Some  of  the  settlers  on  the  frontier, 
infuriated  beyond  the  control  of  reason  by  the 
Indian  marauding  parties,  gathered  together  for 
the  purpose  of  slaughter.  If  they  had  directed 
their  vengeance  against  the  braves,  and  even  all 
the  occupants  of  the  villages   of   the   wilderness, 


88  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

they  might  have  been  excused  though  their  vindic- 
tive rage  led  them  to  retaliate  by  the  same  bar- 
barities which  the  red  men  had  practiced  towards 
the  whites.  Unfortunately,  instead  of  courageously 
turning  their  faces  towards  the  forests,  they  turned 
their  backs  in  that  direction,  where  only  there 
was  any  enemy  to  be  feared,  and  in  a  safe  expedi- 
tion they  wreaked  a  deadly,  senseless,  cowardly, 
and  brutal  vengeance  on  an  unoffending  group 
of  twenty  old  men,  women,  and  children,  living 
peacefully  and  harmlessly  near  Lancaster.  The 
infamous  story  is  familiar  in  the  annals  of  Penn- 
sylvania as  the  "Paxton  massacre,"  because  the 
"Paxton  boys,"  the  perpetrators,  came  from  the 
Scotch -Irish  settlement  bearing  that  name. 

Franklin's  indignation  was  great,  and  he  ex- 
pressed it  forcibly  in  a  pamphlet.  But  many, 
even  of  the  class  which  should  have  felt  with  him, 
were  in  such  a  temper  that  they  would  condemn 
no  act  done  against  an  Indian.  Encouraged  by 
the  prevalence  of  this  feeling,  this  same  band, 
swelled  to  a  numerous  and  really  formidable  force, 
had  the  audacity  to  start  for  Philadelphia  itself, 
with  the  avowed  purpose  of  massacring  there  a 
small  body  of  civilized  Christian  Indians,  who  had 
fled  thither  for  safety  under  the  charge  of  their 
Moravian  missionary,  and  against  whom  not  a 
complaint  could  be  made.  Panic  reigned  in  the 
City  of  Brotherly  Love,  little  competent  to  cope 
with  imminent  violence.  In  the  crisis  citizens 
and   governor   could    conceive    no   more   hopeful 


LIFE  IN  PHILADELPHIA  89 

scheme  than  an  appeal  to  Franklin,  which  was 
made  at  once  and  urgently.  The  governor  himself 
actually  took  up  his  residence  in  Franklin's  house, 
and  stayed  there  till  the  threat  of  trouble  passed 
over,  speaking,  writing,  and  ordering  only  at 
Franklin's  dictation,  —  a  course  which  had  in  it 
more  of  sense  than  of  dignity.  The  appeal  was 
made  in  the  right  quarter.  Already  profoundly 
moved  in  this  matter,  Franklin  was  prompt  and 
zealous  to  save  his  city  from  a  shameful  act,  and 
the  Indians  from  barbarous  murder.  His  efforts 
soon  gathered,  and  after  a  fashion  organized,  a 
body  of  defenders  probably  somewhat  more  numer- 
ous than  the  approaching  mob.  Yet  a  collision 
would  have  been  most  unfortunate,  whatever  the 
result;  and  to  avert  it  Franklin  took  it  upon  him 
to  go  in  person  to  meet  the  assailants.  His 
courage,  coolness,  and  address  prevailed;  he  suc- 
ceeded in  satisfying  the  "Paxton  boys"  that  they 
were  so  greatly  outnumbered  that,  far  from  at- 
tacking others,  they  could  only  secure  their  own 
safety  by  instant  dispersion.  Thus  by  the  re- 
sources and  presence  of  mind  of  one  man  Phila- 
delphia was  saved  from  a  day  of  which  the  bloody 
stain  could  never  have  been  effaced  from  her  good 
fame. 

But  Franklin  seemed  for  a  while  to  reap  more 
of  hostility  than  of  gratitude  for  his  gallant  and 
honorable  conduct  in  this  emergency.  Governor 
Penn  was  an  ignoble  man,  and  after  the  danger 
was   over   he    left   the    house,    in   which    he    had 


90  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

certainly  played  a  rather  ignominious  part,  with 
those  feelings  toward  his  host  which  a  small  soul 
inevitably  cherishes  toward  a  greater  under  such 
circumstances.  Moreover,  there  were  very  many 
among  the  people  who  had  more  of  sympathy  with 
the  "Paxton  boys  "  than  with  the  wise  and  humane 
man  who  had  thwarted  them.  "For  about  forty- 
eight  hours,"  Franklin  wrote  to  one  of  his  friends, 
"I  was  a  very  great  man;  "  but  after  "the  fighting 
face  we  put  on "  caused  the  insurgents  to  turn 
back,  "I  became  a  less  man  than  ever;  for  I  had, 
by  this  transaction,  made  myself  many  enemies 
among  the  populace,"  a  fact  of  which  the  governor 
speedily  took  advantage.  But  without  this  episode 
enmity  between  Penn  and  Franklin  was  inevitable. 
They  served  masters  whose  ends  were  wide  apart; 
upon  the  one  side  avaricious  proprietaries  of  little 
foresight  and  judgment,  upon  the  other  side  a  peo- 
ple jealous  of  their  rights  and  unwilling  to  leave 
to  any  one  else  the  definition  and  interpretation  of 
them. 

Soon  it  became  known  that  the  instructions  of 
the  new  governor  differed  in  no  substantial  particu- 
lar from  those  of  his  predecessors.  The  procession 
of  vetoes  upon  the  acts  of  the  Assembly  resumed 
its  familiar  and  hateful  march.  A  militia  bill  was 
thus  cut  off,  because,  instead  of  leaving  with  the 
governor  the  nomination  of  regimental  officers,  it 
stipulated  that  the  rank  and  file  should  name  three 
persons  for  each  position,  and  that  the  governor 
should  choose  one  of  these,  —  an  arrangement  bad 


<      LIFE  IN  PHILADELPHIA  91 

in  itself,  but  perhaps  well  suited  to  the  habits  and 
even  the  needs  of  the  province  at  that  time.  A 
tax  bill  met  the  like  fate,  because  it  did  not  dis- 
criminate in  favor  of  the  located  lands  of  the  pro- 
prietaries by  rating  their  best  lands  at  no  higher 
valuation  than  the  worst  lands  of  other  persons. 
Soon  it  was  generally  felt  that  matters  were  as  bad 
as  ever,  and  with  scantier  chances  of  improvement. 
Then  "all  the  old  wounds  broke  out  and  bled 
afresh;  all  the  old  grievances,  still  unredressed, 
were  recollected;  despair  succeeded  of  seeing  any 
peace  with  a  family  that  could  make  such  returns 
to  all  overtures  of  kindness."  The  aggrieved 
party  revived  its  scheme  for  a  transfer  of  the  gov- 
ernment from  the  proprietaries  to  the  crown,  and 
Franklin  threw  himself  into  the  discussion  with 
more  of  zeal  and  ardor  than  he  had  often  shown. 

While  the  debates  upon  this  subject  waxed  hot 
in  the  Assembly,  it  was  moved  and  carried  that 
that  body  should  adjourn  for  a  few  weeks,  in  order 
that  members  might  consult  their  constituents  and 
sound  the  public  feeling.  During  this  recess  it 
may  be  conceived  that  neither  side  was  slack  in  its 
efforts.  Franklin  for  his  share  contributed  a  pam- 
phlet, entitled  "Cool  Thoughts  on  the  Present 
Situation  of  our  Public  Affairs."  "Mischievous 
and  distressing,"  he  said,  as  the  frequent  disputes 
"  have  been  found  to  both  proprietaries  and  people, 
it  does  not  appear  that  there  is  any  prospect  of 
their  being  extinguished,  till  either  the  proprie- 
tary purse  is  unable  to  support  them,  or  the  spirit 


92  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

of  the  people  so  broken  that  they  shall  be  willing 
to  submit  to  anything  rather  than  continue  them." 
With  a  happy  combination  of  shrewdness  and 
moderation  he  laid  the  blame  upon  the  intrinsic 
nature  of  a  proprietary  government.  "For  though 
it  is  not  unlikely  that  in  these  as  well  as  in  other 
disputes  there  are  faults  on  both  sides,  every  glow- 
ing eoal  being  apt  to  inflame  its  opposite;  yet  I 
see  no  reason  to  suppose  that  all  proprietary  rulers 
are  worse  men  than  other  rulers,  nor  that  all  peo- 
ple in  proprietary  governments  are  worse  people 
than  those  in  other  governments.  I  suspect, 
therefore,  that  the  cause  is  radical,  interwoven  in 
the  constitution,  and  so  become  the  very  nature, 
of  proprietary  governments;  and  will  therefore 
produce  its  effects  as  long  as  such  governments 
continue."  It  indicated  a  broad  and  able  mind, 
and  one  well  under  control,  to  assume  as  a  basis 
this  dispassionate  assertion  of  a  general  principle, 
amid  such  personal  heats  as  were  then  inflaming 
the  passions  of  the  whole  community.  His  con- 
clusion held  one  of  his  admirable  similes  which 
had  the  force  of  argument :  "  There  seems  to  re- 
main then  but  one  remedy  for  our  evils,  a  remedy 
approved  by  experience,  and  which  has  been  tried 
with  success  by  other  provinces;  I  mean  that  of 
an  immediate  Royal  Government,  without  the  in- 
tervention of  proprietary  powers,  which,  like  un- 
necessary springs  and  movements  in  a  machine, 
are  so  apt  to  produce  disorder." 

Further,  he  held  out  a  bait  to  the  crown :  — 


LIFE   IN  PHILADELPHIA  93 

"The  expression,  change  of  government,  seems  indeed 
to  be  too  extensive,  and  is  apt  to  give  the  idea  of  a 
general  and  total  change  of  our  laws  and  constitution. 
It  is  rather  and  only  a  change  of  governor  —  that  is,  in- 
stead of  self-interested  proprietaries,  a  gracious  king. 
His  majesty,  who  has  no  views  but  for  the  good  of  the 
people,  will  thenceforth  appoint  the  governor,  who,  un- 
shackled by  proprietary  instructions,  will  be  at  liberty 
to  join  with  the  Assembly  in  enacting  wholesome  laws. 
At  present,  when  the  king  desires  supplies  of  his  faithful 
subjects,  and  they  are  willing  and  desirous  to  grant  them, 
the  proprietaries  intervene  and  say  :  '  Unless  our  private 
interests  in  certain  particulars  are  served,  nothing  shall 
be  done.'  This  insolent  tribunal  veto  has  long  encum- 
bered our  public  affairs  and  been  productive  of  many 
mischiefs." 

He  then  drew  a  petition  "to  the  king's  most 
excellent  majesty  in  council,"  which  humbly 
showed  "That  the  government  of  this  province  by 
proprietaries  has,  by  long  experience,  been  found 
inconvenient,  attended  by  many  difficulties  and 
obstructions  to  your  majesty's  service,  arising  from 
the  intervention  of  proprietary  private  interests  in 
public  affairs,  and  disputes  concerning  those  in- 
terests. That  the  said  proprietary  government  is 
weak,  unable  to  support  its  own  authority,  and 
maintain  the  common  internal  peace  of  the  pro- 
vince ;  great  riots  have  lately  arisen  therein.  .  .  . 
And  these  evils  are  not  likely  to  receive  any 
remedy  here,  the  continual  disputes  between  the 
proprietaries  and  people,  and  their  mutual  jeal- 
ousies and  dislikes,  preventing."     Wherefore  his 


94  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

majesty  was  asked  to  be  "graciously  pleased  to 
resume  the  government  of  this  province,  .  .  . 
permitting  your  dutiful  subjects  therein  to  jenjoy, 
under  your  majesty's  more  immediate  care  and 
protection,  the  privileges  that  have  been  granted 
to  them  by  and  under  your  royal  predecessors." 

The  result  of  feeling  the  public  pulse  showed 
that  it  beat  very  high  and  strong  for  the  proposed 
change.  Accordingly  the  resolution  to  present  the 
petition  was  now  easily  carried.  But  again  the 
aged  speaker,  Norris,  found  himself  called  upon 
to  do  that  for  which  he  had  not  the  nerve.  He 
resigned  the  speakership;  Franklin  was  chosen  in 
his  place  and  set  the  official  signature  to  the  docu- 
ment. 

Another  paper  by  Franklin  upon  the  same  sub- 
ject, and  of  considerable  length,  appeared  in  the 
shape  of  a  preface  to  a  speech  delivered  in  the 
Assembly  by  Joseph  Galloway  in  answer  to  a 
speech  on  the  proprietary  side  by  John  Dickinson, 
which  speech,  also  with  a  long  preface,  had  been 
printed.  In  this  pamphlet  he  reviewed  all  the 
recent  history  of  the  province.  He  devoted  sev- 
eral pages  to  a  startling  exposition  of  the  almost 
incredible  usage  which  had  long  prevailed,  whereby 
bills  were  left  to  accumulate  on  the  governor's 
table,  and  then  were  finally  signed  by  him  in  a 
batch,  only  upon  condition  that  he  should  receive, 
or  even  sometimes  upon  his  simultaneously  re- 
ceiving, a  considerable  douceur.  Not  only  had 
this  been  connived  at   by  the   proprietaries,   but 


LIFE  IN  PHILADELPHIA  95 

sometimes  these  payments  had  been  shared  be- 
tween the  proprietaries  and  the  governors.  This 
topic  Franklin  finally  dismissed  with  a  few  lines 
of  admirable  sarcasm:  "Do  not,  my  courteous 
reader,  take  pet  at  our  proprietary  constitution 
for  these  our  bargain  and  sale  proceedings  in 
legislation.  It  is  a  happy  country  where  justice, 
and  what  was  your  own  before,  can  be  had  for 
ready  money.  It  is  another  addition  to  the  value 
of  money,  and,  of  course,  another  spur  to  indus- 
try. Every  land  is  not  so  blessed."  Many  quo- 
tations from  this  able  state  paper  have  already 
been  made  in  the  preceding  pages,  though  it  is  so 
brilliant  a  piece  of  work  that  to  quote  is  only  to 
mutilate.  Its  argument,  denunciation,  humor, 
and  satire  are  interwoven  in  a  masterly  combina- 
tion. The  renowned  "sketch  in  the  lapidary 
style,"  prepared  for  the  gravestone  of  Thomas  and 
Richard  Penn,  with  the  introductory  paragraphs, 
constitutes  one  of  the  finest  assaults  in  political 
literature.1  It  is  unfortunately  impossible  to  give 
any  adequate  idea  or  even  abstract  of  a  document 
which  covers  so  much  ground  and  with  such  va- 
riety of  treatment.  It  had  of  course  a  powerful 
effect  in  stimulating  the  public  sentiment,  and  it 
was  especially  useful  in  supplying  formidable 
arguments  to  those  of  the  popular  way  of  think- 
ing; drawing  their  weapons  from  this  armory, 
they  felt  themselves  invincible. 

1  Franklin's  animosity  against  the  Penns  was  mitigated  in  later    ^/ 
years.     See  Franklin's  Works,  viii.  273. 


96  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

But  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  all  this  while 
Franklin  was  treading  the  velvet  path  of  universal 
popularity,  amid  the  unanimous  encouragement 
of  his  fellow  citizens,  and  with  only  the  frowns 
of  the  proprietary  officials  to  disturb  his  serenity. 
By  one  means  and  another  the  proprietaries  mus- 
tered a  considerable  party  in  the  province,  and 
the  hatred  of  all  these  men  was  concentrated  upon 
Franklin  with  extreme  bitterness.  He  said  that 
he  was  "as  much  the  butt  of  party  rage  and  mal- 
ice," and  was  as  much  pelted  with  hostile  prints 
and  pamphlets,  as  if  he  were  prime  minister. 
Neither  was  the  notion  of  a  royal  government 
looked  upon  with  liking  even  by  all  those  who  were 
indignant  against  the  present  system.  Moreover 
many  persons  still  remained  ill  disposed  towards 
him  by  reason  of  his  opinions  and  behavior  dur- 
ing the  Paxton  outbreak.  The  combination  against 
him,  made  up  of  all  these  various  elements,  felt 
itself  powerful  enough  for  mischief,  and  found  its 
opportunity  in  the  election  to  the  Assembly  occur- 
ring in  the  autumn  of  1764.  The  polls  were 
opened  on  October  1,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  throng  was  dense,  and  the  column  of 
voters  could  move  but  slowly.  At  three  o'clock 
of  the  following  morning,  the  voting  having  con- 
tinued during  the  night,  the  friends  of  the  "new 
ticket,"  that  is  to  say  of  the  new  candidate,  moved 
to  close  the  polls.  The  friends  of  the  "old  ticket" 
opposed  this  motion  and  unfortunately  prevailed. 
They  had  a  "reserve  of  the  aged  and  lame,"  who 


LIFE  IN  PHILADELPHIA  97 

had  shunned  the  crowd  and  were  now  brought  in 
chairs  and  litters.  Thus  in  three  hours  they 
increased  their  score  by  some  two  hundred  votes. 
But  the  other  side  was  not  less  enterprising,  and 
devoting  the  same  extension  of  time  to  scour- 
ing Germantown  and  other  neighborhoods,  they 
brought  in  near  five  hundred  additional  votes  upon 
their  side.  It  was  apparently  this  strange  blun- 
der of  the  political  managers  for  the  "old  ticket" 
party  that  was  fatal  to  Franklin,  for  when  the 
votes  were  all  counted  he  was  found  to  be  beaten 
by  a  balance  against  him  of  twenty-five.  He  had 
therefore  evidently  had  a  majority  at  the  hour 
when  his  friends  prevented  the  closing  of  the  polls. 
He  "died  like  a  philosopher.  But  Mr.  Galloway 
agonized  in  death  like  a  Mortal  Deist,  who  has  no 
Hopes  of  a  Future  Existence."  1 

But  the  jubilation  of  the  proprietary  party  over 
this  signal  victory  was  soon  changed  into  mourn- 
ing. For  within  a  few  days  the  new  Assembly 
was  in  session,  and  at  once  took  into  consideration 
the  appointment  of  Dr.  Franklin  as  its  agent  to 
present  to  the  king  in  council  another  petition  for 
a  royal  government.  The  wrath  of  the  other  side 
blazed  forth  savagely.  "No  measure,"  their 
leader,  Dickinson,  said,  was  "so  likely  to  inflame 
the  resentments  and  embitter  the  discontents  of 
the  people."  He  "appealed  to  the  heart  of  every 
member  for  the  truth  of  the  assertion  that  no  man 

1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  i.  451,  quoting  Life  of  Joseph  Reed, 
137. 


98  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

in  Pennsylvania  is  at  this  time  so  much  the  object 
of  public  dislike  as  he  that  has  been  mentioned. 
To  what  a  surprising  height  this  dislike  is  carried 
among  vast  numbers"  he  did  "not  choose  to 
repeat."  He  said  that  within  a  few  hours  of  the 
nomination  hundreds  of  the  most  reputable  citizens 
had  protested,  and  if  time  were  given  thousands 
"  would  crowd  to  present  the  like  testimony  against 
[him].  Why  then  should  a  majority  of  this  House 
single  out  from  the  whole  world  the  man  most 
obnoxious  to  his  country  to  represent  his  country, 
though  he  was  at  the  last  election  turned  out  of 
the  Assembly,  where  he  had  sat  for  fourteen  years  ? 
Why  should  they  exert  their  power  in  the  most 
disgusting  manner,  and  throw  pain,  terror,  and 
displeasure  into  the  breasts  of  their  fellow  citi- 
zens? "  The  excited  orator  then  threw  out  a  sug- 
gestion to  which  this  vituperation  had  hardly  paved 
a  way  of  roses ;  he  actually  appealed  to  Franklin 
to  emulate  Aristides,  and  not  be  worse  than  "the 
dissolute  Otho,"  and  to  this  end  urged  that  he 
should  distinguish  himself  in  the  eyes  of  all  good 
men  by  "voluntarily  declining  an  office  which  he 
could  not  accept  without  alarming,  offending,  and 
disturbing  his  country."  "Let  him,  from  a  pri- 
vate station,  from  a  smaller  sphere,  diffuse,  as  I 
think  he  may,  a  beneficial  light;  but  let  him  not 
be  made  to  move  and  blaze  like  a  comet,  to  terrify 
and  to  distress."1  The  popular  majority  in  the 
Assembly  withstood  Mr.  Dickinson's  rhetoric,  and, 

1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  i.  451,  452. 


LIFE  IN  PHILADELPHIA  99 

to  quote  the  forcible  language  of  Bancroft,  "pro- 
ceeded to  an  act  which  in  its  consequences  was  to 
influence  the  world."  That  is  to  say,  they  carried 
the  appointment.  Franklin  likewise  set  aside 
Dickinson's  seductive  counsels,  and  accepted  the 
position. 

It  is  not  in  human  nature  to  be  so  extravagantly 
abused  in  times  of  intense  excitement,  and  wholly 
to  hold  one's  peace.  Even  the  cool  temper  of  Dr. 
Franklin  was  incited  to  a  retort ;  his  defense  was 
brief  and  dignified,  in  a  very  different  tone  from 
that  of  the  aspersions  to  which  it  replied;  and  it 
carries  that  influence  which  always  belongs  to  him 
who  preserves  moderation  amid  the  passions  of  a 
fierce  controversy.1 

1  See,  for  example,  Franklin's  Works,  iii.  361,  362. 


CHAPTER   V 
SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND,    I 

Franklin  so  hastened  his  preparations  that  he 
was  ready  to  depart  again  for  England  in  twelve 
days  after  his  election.  There  was  no  money  in 
the  provincial  treasury;  but  some  of  the  well-to- 
do  citizens,  in  expectation  of  reimbursement,  raised 
by  subscription  £1100.  He  took  only  £500.  A 
troop  of  three  hundred  mounted  citizens  escorted 
him  from  the  city  sixteen  miles  down  the  river  to 
the  ship,  and  "filled  the  sails  with  their  good 
wishes."  This  parade,  designed  only  as  a  friendly 
demonstration,  was  afterward  made  a  charge 
against  him,  as  an  assumption  of  pomp  and  a  dis- 
play of  popularity.  If  it  had  been  deliberately 
planned,  it  would  have  been  ill  advised;  but  it 
took  him  by  surprise,  and  he  could  not  prevent  it. 
The  ship  cast  anchor  in  St.  Helen's  Road,  Isle 
of  Wight,  on  December  9,  1764.  He  forthwith 
hastened  to  London,  and  installed  himself  in  the 
familiar  rooms  at  No.  7  Craven  Street,  Strand. 
In  Philadelphia,  when  the  news  came  of  the  safe 
arrival  of  this  "man  the  most  obnoxious  to  his 
country,"  the  citizens  kept  the  bells  ringing  until 
midnight. 


SECOND   MISSION   TO   ENGLAND  101 

So  altogether  the  prospect  now  seemed  agree- 
able in  whatever  direction  Dr.  Franklin  chose  to 
look.  He  was  in  quarters  in  which  he  was  at  least 
as  much  at  home  as  he  could  feel  in  his  house  at 
Philadelphia;  Mrs.  Stevenson,  his  landlady,  and 
her  daughter  Mary,  whom  he  had  sought  to  per- 
suade his  son  to  marry,  upon  the  excellent  ground 
of  his  own  great  affection  for  her,  not  only  made 
him  comfortable  but  saved  him  from  homesick- 
ness; old  and  warm  friends  welcomed  him;  the 
pleasures  of  London  society  again  spread  their 
charms  before  him.  Without  the  regrets  and 
doubts  which  must  have  attended  the  real  emigra- 
tion which  he  had  been  half  inclined  to  make,  he 
seemed  to  be  reaping  all  the  gratification  which 
that  could  have  brought  him.  At  the  same  time 
he  had  also  the  pride  of  receiving  from  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic  glowing  accounts  of  the  esteem 
in  which  he  was  held  by  a  controlling  body  of 
those  who  were  still  his  fellow  citizens  there.  But 
already  there  had  shown  itself  above  the  horizon  a 
cloud  which  rapidly  rose,  expanded,  and  obscured 
all  this  fair  sky. 

Franklin  came  to  England  in  the  anticipation 
of  a  short  stay,  and  with  no  purpose  beyond  the 
presentation  and  urging  of  the  petition  for  the 
change  of  government.  Somewhat  less  than  ten 
months,  he  thought,  would  suffice  to  finish  this 
business.  In  fact,  he  did  not  get  home  for  ten 
years,  and  this  especial  errand,  which  had  seemed 
all  that  he  had  to  do,  soon  sank  into  such  com- 


102  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

parative  insignificance  that,  though  not  actually 
forgotten,  it  could  not  secure  attention.  He  con- 
scientiously made  repeated  efforts  to  keep  the 
petition  in  the  memory  of  the  English  ministry, 
and  to  obtain  action  upon  it ;  but  his  efforts  were 
vain;  that  body  was  absorbed  by  other  affairs  in 
connection  with  the  troublesome  American  colo- 
nies, —  affairs  which  gave  vastly  more  perplexity 
and  called  for  much  more  attention  than  were  be- 
coming in  the  case  of  provinces  that  should  have 
been  submissive  as  well-behaved  children.  Frank- 
lin himself  found  his  own  functions  correspond- 
ingly enlarged.  Instead  of  remaining  simply  an 
agent  charged  with  urging  a  petition  which  brought 
him  in  conflict  only  with  private  persons,  like 
himself  subjects  of  the  king,  he  found  his  position 
rapidly  change  and  develop  until  he  became  really 
the  representative  of  a  disaffected  people  main- 
taining a  cause  against  the  monarch  and  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  great  British  Empire.  It  was  the 
"Stamp  Act"  which  effected  this  transformation. 
Scarcely  had  the  great  war  with  France  been 
brought  to  a  close  by  the  treaty  of  1763,  bringing 
such  enormous  advantages  to  the  old  British  pos- 
sessions in  America,  before  it  became  apparent 
that  among  the  fruits  some  were  mingled  that  were 
neither  sweet  nor  nourishing.  The  war  had  moved 
the  colonies  into  a  perilous  foreground.  Their  in- 
terests had  cost  much  in  men  and  money,  and  had 
been  worth  all  that  they  had  cost,  and  more;  the 
benefits  conferred  upon  them  had  been  immense, 


SECOND   MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  103 

yet  were  recognized  as  not  being  in  excess  of  their 
real  importance,  present  and  future.  Worst  of 
all,  the  magnitude  of  their  financial  resources 
had  been  made  apparent;  without  a  murmur, 
without  visible  injury  to  their  prosperity,  they 
had  voluntarily  raised  large  sums  by  taxation. 
Meanwhile  the  English  treasury  had  been  put  to 
enormous  charges,  and  the  English  people  groaned 
beneath  the  unwonted  tax  burdens  which  they  had 
to  bear.  The  attention  of  British  financiers,  even 
before  the  war  was  over,  was  turned  toward  the 
colonies,  as  a  field  of  which  the  productive  capa- 
city had  never  been  developed. 

So  soon  as  peace  brought  to  the  government 
leisure  to  adjust  domestic  matters  in  a  thorough 
manner,  the  scheme  for  colonial  taxation  came  to 
the  front.  "America  .  .  .  became  the  great  sub- 
ject of  consideration ;  .  .  .  and  the  minister  who 
was  charged  with  its  government  took  the  lead 
in  public  business."1  This  minister  was  at  first 
Charles  Townshend,  than  whom  no  man  in  Eng- 
land, it  was  supposed,  knew  more  of  the  transat- 
lantic possessions.  His  scheme  involved  a  stand- 
ing army  of  25,000  men  in  the  provinces,  to  be 
supported  by  taxes  to  be  raised  there.  In  order 
to  obtain  this  revenue  he  first  gave  his  care  to  the 
revision  of  the  navigation  act.  Duties  which  had 
been  so  high  that  they  had  never  been  collected  he 
now  proposed  to  reduce  and  to  enforce.  This  was 
designed  to  be  only  the  first  link  in  the  chain,  but 
1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  iv.  28. 


104  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

before  he  could  forge  others  he  had  to  go  out  of 
office  with  the  Bute  ministry.  The  change  in  the 
cabinet,  however,  made  no  change  in  the  colonial 
policy;  that  was  not  "the  wish  of  this  man  or  that 
man,"  but  apparently  of  nearly  all  English  states- 
men. 

So  in  March,  1763,  George  Grenville,  in  the 
treasury  department,  took  up  the  plan  which 
Townshend  had  laid  down.  Grenville  was  com- 
mercially minded,  and  his  first  efforts  were  in  the 
direction  of  regulating  the  trade  of  the  colonies 
so  as  to  carry  out  with  much  more  stringency 
and  thoroughness  than  heretofore  three  principles : 
first,  that  England  should  be  the  only  shop  in 
which  a  colonist  could  purchase ;  second,  that  colo- 
nists should  not  make  for  themselves  those  articles 
which  England  had  to  sell  to  them ;  third,  that  the 
people  of  different  colonies  should  not  trade  with 
each  other  even  to  the  indirect  or  possible  detri- 
ment of  the  trade  of  either  with  England.  Se- 
verely as  these  restrictions  bore  upon  the  colonists, 
they  were  of  that  character,  as  relating  to  external 
trade,  which  no  colonist  denied  to,  lie  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  Parliament.  But  they  were  not 
enough ;  they  must  be  supplemented ;  and  a  stamp 
act  was  designed  as  the  supplement.  On  March  9, 
1764,  Grenville  stated  his  intention  to  introduce 
such  a  bill  at  the  next  session;  he  needed  the 
interval  for  inquiries  and  preparation.  It  was 
no  very  novel  idea.  It  "had  been  proposed  to  Sir 
Robert  Walpole;  it  had  been  thought  of  by  Pel- 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  105 

ham;  it  had  been  almost  resolved  upon  in  1755; 
it  had  been  pressed  upon  Pitt ;  it  seems,  beyond  a 
doubt,  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  system  adopted 
in  the  ministry  of  Bute,  and  it  was  sure  of  the 
support  of  Charles  Townshend.  Knox,  the  agent 
of  Georgia,  stood  ready  to  defend  it.  .  .  .  The 
agent  of  Massachusetts  favored  raising  the  wanted 
money  in  that  way."  Little  opposition  was  anti- 
cipated in  Parliament,  and  none  from  the  king. 
In  short,  "everybody,  who  reasoned  on  the  sub- 
ject, decided  for  a  stamp  tax."1  Never  did  any 
bill  of  any  legislature  seem  to  come  into  being 
with  better  auspices.  Some  among  the  colonial 
agents  certainly  expressed  ill  feeling  towards  it; 
but  Grenville  silenced  them,  telling  them  that  he 
was  acting  "from  a  real  regard  and  tenderness" 
towards  the  Americans.  He  said  this  in  perfect 
good  faith.  His  views  both  of  the  law  and  of  the 
reasons  for  the  law  were  intelligent  and  honest; 
he  had  carefully  gathered  information  and  sought 
advice ;  and  he  had  a  profound  belief  alike  in  the 
righteousness  and  the  wisdom  of  the  measure. 

News  of  what  was  in  preparation  in  England 
reached  Pennsylvania  in  the  summer  of  1764, 
shortly  before  Franklin  sailed.  The  Assembly 
debated  concerning  it;  Franklin  was  prominent 
in  condemning  the  scheme;  and  a  resolution  pro- 
testing against  it  was  passed.  It  was  made  part 
of  Franklin's  duty  in  London  to  urge  upon  Gren- 
ville these  views  of  Pennsylvania.  But  when  he 
1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  iv.  155. 


^     OF    THE 


UNlVERSiTY 


106  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

arrived  he  found  that  the  grinding  at  the  mills  of 
government  was  going  on  much  too  evenly  to  be 
disturbed  by  the  introduction  of  any  such  insig- 
nificant foreign  substance  as  a  colonial  protest. 
Nevertheless  he  endeavored  to  do  what  he  could. 
In  company  with  three  other  colonial  agents  he 
had  an  interview  with  Grenville,  February  2, 
1765,  in  which  he  urged  that  taxation  by  act  of 
Parliament  was  needless,  inasmuch  as  any  requisi- 
tion for  the  service  of  the  king  always  had  found, 
and  always  would  find,  a  prompt  and  liberal  re- 
sponse on  the  part  of  the  Assembly.  Arguments, 
however,  and  protests  struck  ineffectually  against 
the  solid  wall  of  Grenville's  established  purpose. 
He  listened  with  a  civil  appearance  of  interest 
and  dismissed  his  visitors  and  all  memory  of  their 
arguments  together.  On  the  13th  of  the  same 
month  he  read  the  bill  in  Parliament;  on  the  27th 
it  passed  the  Commons;  on  March  8,  the  Lords; 
and  on  March  22  it  was  signed  by  a  royal  com- 
mission; the  insanity  of  the  king  saved  him  from 
placing  his  own  signature  to  the  ill-starred  law. 
In  July  Franklin  wrote  to  Charles  Thomson :  — 

"  Depend  upon  it,  my  good  neighbor,  I  took  every 
step  in  my  power  to  prevent  the  passing  of  the  Stamp 
Act.  Nobody  could  be  more  concerned  and  interested 
than  myself  to  oppose  it  sincerely  and  heartily.  But 
the  tide  was  too  strong  against  us.  The  nation  was 
provoked  by  American  claims  of  independence,  and  all 
parties  joined  in  resolving  by  this  act  to  settle  the  point. 
We  might   as    well   have   hindered    the  sun's   setting. 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  107 

That  we  could  not  do.  But  since  it  is  down,  my  friend, 
and  it  may  be  long  before  it  rises  again,  let  us  make  as 
good  a  night  of  it  as  we  can.  We  can  still  light  candles. 
Frugality  and  industry  will  go  a  great  way  towards  in- 
demnifying us.  Idleness  and  pride  tax  with  a  heavier 
hand  than  kings  and  parliaments.  If  we  can  get  rid  of 
the  former,  we  may  easily  bear  the  latter." 

In  such  a  temper  was  he  at  this  time,  and  so 
remained  until  he  got  news  of  the  first  mutterings 
of  the  storm  in  the  colonies.  His  words  show 
a  discouragement  and  despondency  unusual  with 
him ;  but  what  attracts  remark  is  the  philosophical 
purpose  to  make  the  best  even  of  so  bad  a  busi- 
ness, the  hopeless  absence  of  any  suggestion  of  a 
further  opposition,  and  that  his  only  advice  is 
patient  endurance.  Unquestionably  he  did  con- 
ceive the  matter  to  be  for  the  time  settled.  The 
might  of  England  was  an  awful  fact,  visible  all 
around  him ;  he  felt  the  tremendous  force  of  the 
great  British  people;  and  he  saw  their  immense 
resources  every  day  as  he  walked  the  streets  of 
busy,  prosperous  London.  As  he  recalled  the  infant 
towns  and  scattered  villages  of  the  colonies,  how 
could  he  contemplate  forcible  resistance  to  an  edict 
of  Parliament  and  the  king?  Had  Otis,  Adams, 
Henry,  Gadsden,  and  the  rest  seen  with  their 
bodily  eyes  what  Franklin  was  seeing  every  day, 
their  words  might  have  been  more  tempered. 
Even  a  year  later,  in  talk  with  a  gentleman  who 
said  that  so  far  back  as  1741  he  had  expressed  an 
opinion  that  the  colonies  "would  one  day  release 


108  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

themselves  from  England,"  Franklin  answered, 
"  with  his  earnest,  expressive,  and  intelligent 
face:  "  "Then  you  were  mistaken;  the  Americans 
have  too  much  love  for  their  mother  country;" 
and  he  added  that  "secession  was  impossible,  for 
all  the  American  towns  of  importance,  Boston, 
New  York,  and  Philadelphia,  were  exposed  to  the 
English  navy.  Boston  could  be  destroyed  by 
bombardment."  Near  the  same  time  he  said  to 
Ingersoll  of  Connecticut,  who  was  about  departing 
for  the  colonies :  "  Go  home  and  tell  your  country- 
men to  get  children  as  fast  as  they  can."  By  no 
means  without  forebodings  for  the  future,  he  was 
yet  far  from  fancying  that  the  time  had  come  when 
physical  resistance  was  feasible.  It  seemed  still 
the  day  for  arguments,  not  for  menaces. 

To  Franklin  in  this  frame  of  mind,  never 
doubting  that  the  act  would  be  enforced,  there 
was  brought  a  plausible  message  from  Grenville. 
The  minister  desired  "to  make  the  execution  of 
the  act  as  little  inconvenient  and  disagreeable  to 
America  as  possible,"  and  to  this  end  he  preferred 
to  nominate  as  stamp  distributers  "discreet  and 
reputable  "  residents  in  the  province,  rather  than 
to  send  over  strangers  from  Great  Britain.  Ac- 
cordingly he  solicited  a  nomination  from  Franklin 
of  some  "honest  and  responsible"  man  in  Phila- 
delphia. Franklin  readily  named  a  trustworthy 
merchant  of  his  acquaintance,  Mr.  Hughes.  The 
Stamp  Act  itself  hardly  turned  out  a  greater  blun- 
der for  Grenville  than  this  well-meant  suggestion 


SECOND  MISSION  TO   ENGLAND  109 

was  near  turning  out  for  Franklin.  When  the 
Philadelphians  got  news  of  the  passage  of  the  act, 
the  preparations  for  its  enforcement,  the  nomi- 
nation of  Mr.  Hughes,  and  the  fact  that  he  had 
been  suggested  by  Franklin,  the  whole  city  rose 
in  a  wild  frenzy  of  rage.  Never  was  such  a  sud- 
den change  of  feeling.  He  who  had  been  their 
trusted  companion  was  now  loudly  reviled  as  a 
false  and  truckling  traitor.  He  was  said  to  have 
deserted  his  own,  and  to  have  gone  over  to  the 
minister's  side;  to  have  approved  the  odious  law, 
and  to  have  asked  that  a  position  under  it  might 
be  given  to  his  friend.  The  mobs  ranging  the 
streets  threatened  to  destroy  the  new  house,  in 
which  he  had  left  his  wife  and  daughter.  The 
latter  was  persuaded  to  seek  safety  in  Burling- 
ton; but  Mrs.  Franklin,  with  admirable  courage, 
stayed  in  the  house  till  the  danger  was  over. 
Some  armed  friends  stood  ready  to  assist  if  the 
crisis  should  come,  but  fortunately  it  passed  by. 
All  sorts  of  stories  were  spread  concerning  Frank- 
lin, —  even  that  it  was  he  who  had  "planned  the 
Stamp  Act;"  and  that  he  was  endeavoring  also 
to  get  the  Test  Act  introduced  into  the  colonies ! 
A  caricature  represented  the  devil  whispering  into 
his  ear:  "Ben,  you  shall  be  my  agent  throughout 
my  dominions." 

Knowing  Franklin's  frame  of  mind,  it  is  easy 
to  fancy  the  surprise  with  which  he  learned  of  the 
spirit  which  had  blazed  forth  in  the  colonies,  and 
of  the  violent  doings  in  many  places;  and  we  may 


110  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

imagine  the  pain  and  mortification  with  which  he 
heard  of  the  opinions  expressed  by  his  fellow  citi- 
zens concerning  his  own  action.  He  said  little  at 
the  time,  so  far  as  we  know ;  but  many  years  after- 
wards he  gave  a  narrative  of  his  course  in  language 
which  was  almost  apologetic  and  deprecatory.  A 
pen  in  his  fingers  became  a  sympathetic  instru- 
ment, and  betrays  sometimes  what  his  moderate 
language  does  not  distinctly  state.  The  intense, 
bitter  condemnation  vented  by  his  constituents, 
who  so  lately  had  been  following  his  lead,  but  who 
now  reviled  a  representative  who  had  misrepre- 
sented them  in  so  vital  an  affair,  cut  its  way  deep. 
The  gap  between  him  and  them  did  indeed 
seem  a  wide  one.  In  the  colonies  there  was  uni- 
versal wrath,  oftentimes  swelling  into  fury;  in 
some  places  mobs,  much  sacking  of  houses,  hang- 
ings and  burnings  in  effigy ;  compulsion  put  upon 
king's  officers  publicly  to  resign  their  offices;  wild 
threats  and  violence;  obstruction  to  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  stamped  paper;  open  menaces  of  forci- 
ble resistance,  even  of  secession  and  rebellion;  a 
careful  estimating  of  the  available  armed  forces 
among  the  colonies;  the  proposal  for  a  congress 
of  colonies  to  promote  community  of  action,  to 
protest,  and  to  consult  for  the  common  cause;  dis- 
obedient resolutions  by  legislatures;  a  spreading 
of  the  spirit  of  colonial  union  by  the  general  cry 
of  "Join  or  die;  "  agreements  not  to  import  or 
use  articles  of  English  manufacture,  with  other 
sunder ings  of  commercial  relations.     Far  behind 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  111 

this  mad  procession,  of  which  the  more  moderate 
divisions  were  marshaled  by  Otis,  Sam  Adams, 
and  Gadsden,  and  soon  also  by  John  Adams  and 
Patrick  Henry,  and  by  many  other  well-known 
"patriots,"  Franklin  appeared  to  be  a  laggard  in 
the  rear  distance,  with  disregarded  arguments  and 
protests,  with  words  of  moderation,  even  counsels 
of  submission,  nay,  actually  with  a  sort  of  con- 
nivance in  the  measure  by  the  nomination  of  an 
official  under  it. 

Yet  the  intervening  space  was  not  so  great  as 
it  appeared.  There  was  nothing  in  the  counsels 
of  the  reasonable  and  intelligent  "patriots"  which 
was  repugnant  to  Franklin's  opinions.  So  soon  as 
he  saw  the  ground  upon  which  they  had  placed 
themselves,  he  made  haste  to  come  into  position 
with  them.  It  was  fortunate  indeed  that  the  tran- 
sient separation  was  closed  again  before  it  could 
lead  to  the  calamity  of  his  removal  from  his  office. 
For  no  man  or  even  combination  of  men,  whom  it 
was  possible  to  send  from  the  provinces,  could 
have  done  them  the  services  which  Franklin  was 
about  to  render.  Besides  the  general  power  of 
his  mind,  he  had  peculiar  fitnesses.  He  was 
widely  known  and  very  highly  esteemed  in  Eng- 
land, where  he  moved  in  many  circles.  Among 
members  of  the  nobility,  among  men  high  in  office, 
among  members  of  Parliament,  among  scientific 
men  and  literary  men,  among  men  of  business 
and  affairs,  and  among  men  who  made  a  business 
of  society,  he  was  always  welcome.     In  that  city 


112  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

in  which  dinners  constituted  so  important  an  ele- 
ment in  life,  even  for  the  most  serious  purposes, 
he  was  the  greatest  of  diners-out;  while  at  the 
coffee-houses,  clubs,  and  in  the  old-fashioned  tav- 
ern circles  no  companion  was  more  highly  esteemed 
than  he.  He  consorted  not  only  with  friends  of 
the  colonies,  but  was,  and  for  a  long  time  contin- 
ued to  be,  on  intimate  terms  of  courteous  inter- 
course also  with  those  who  were  soon  to  be  de- 
scribed as  their  enemies.  Each  and  all,  amid  this 
various  and  extensive  acquaintance,  listened  to 
him  with  a  respect  no  tithe  of  which  could  have 
been  commanded  by  any  other  American  then 
living.  The  force  of  his  intelligence,  the  scope  of 
his  understanding,  the  soundness  of  his  judgment, 
had  already  been  appreciated  by  men  accustomed 
to  study  and  to  estimate  the  value  of  such  traits. 
His  knowledge  of  American  affairs,  of  the  trade 
and  business  of  the  provinces,  of  the  characteris- 
tics of  the  people  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
was  very  great,  because  of  his  habit  of  shrewd 
observation,  of  his  taste  for  practical  matters,  and 
of  his  extensive  travels  and  connections  as  post- 
master. Add  to  this  that  he  had  a  profound  affec- 
tion for  the  mother  country,  which  was  not  only  a 
tradition  and  a  habit,  but  a  warm  and  lively  at- 
tachment nourished  by  delightful  personal  experi- 
ence, by  long  residence  and  numerous  friendships, 
by  gratifying  appreciation  of  and  compliments  to 
himself.  No  one  could  doubt  his  sincerity  when 
he  talked  of  his  love  for  England  as  a  real  and 


SECOND   MISSION   TO   ENGLAND  113 

influential  sentiment.  At  the  same  time  he  was 
an  American  and  a  patriot.  Though  he  had 
failed  to  anticipate  the  state  of  feeling  which  the 
Stamp  Act  begot,  it  was  his  only  failure  of  this 
kind;  generally  he  spoke  the  sentiments  of  the 
colonists  with  entire  truth  and  sympathy.  He 
was  one  who  could  combine  force  with  modera- 
tion in  the  expression  of  his  views,  the  force  being 
all  the  greater  for  the  moderation;  he  had  an 
admirable  head  to  conceive  an  argument,  a  tongue 
and  pen  to  state  it  clearly  and  pointedly.  He 
had  presence  of  mind  in  conversation,  was  ready 
and  quick  at  fence ;  he  was  widely  learned ;  he  was 
a  sounder  political  economist  than  any  member 
of  the  English  government;  above  all,  he  had 
an  unrivaled  familiarity  with  the  facts,  the  argu- 
ments, and  the  people  on  both  sides  of  the  con- 
troversy; he  kept  perfect  control  of  his  temper, 
without  the  least  loss  of  earnestness ;  and  had  the 
rare  faculty  of  being  able  to  state  his  own  side  with 
plain  force,  and  yet  without  giving  offense.  Such 
were  his  singular  qualifications,  which  soon  enabled 
him  to  perform  the  greatest  act  of  his  public  life. 

Matters  came  by  degrees  into  better  shape  for 
the  colonies.  In  politics  any  statesman  has  but 
to  propose  a  measure  to  find  it  opposed  by  those 
who  oppose  him.  So  what  had  seemed  an  uni- 
versal willingness  to  levy  internal  taxes  upon  the 
colonies  soon  lost  this  aspect.  No  sooner  did  the 
news  from  the  angry  colonies  bring  the  scheme 
into  prominence  than  the  assaults  upon  it  became 


114  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

numerous,  and  enemies  of  Grenville  became  friends 
of  America.  Arguments  so  obvious  and  so  strong 
as  those  against  the  measure  were  eagerly  made 
the  most  of  by  the  opponents  of  the  men  who  were 
in  office.  Among  these  opponents  was  Pitt,  that 
formidable  man  before  whom  all  trembled.  Gout 
had  disabled  him,  but  who  could  tell  when  he 
might  get  sufficient  respite  to  return  and  deal 
havoc?  Yet  in  spite  of  all  that  was  said,  the 
ministry  seemed  impregnable.  Grenville  was 
very  able,  always  of  a  stubborn  temper,  and  in 
this  especial  case  convinced  to  the  point  of  inten- 
sity that  the  right  lay  with  him;  moreover,  he  was 
complete  master  in  Parliament,  where  his  author- 
ity seemed  still  to  increase  steadily.  No  man 
was  sanguine  enough  to  see  hope  for  the  colpnies, 
when  suddenly  an  occurrence,  which  in  this  age 
could  not  appreciably  affect  the  power  of  an  Eng- 
lish premier,  snapped  Grenville 's  sway  in  a  few 
days.  This  was  only  the  personal  pique  of  the 
king,  irritated  by  complaints  made  by  the  Duke 
of  Bedford  about  the  favorite,  Bute.  For  such  a 
cause  George  III.  drove  out  of  office,  upon  grounds 
of  his  own  dislike,  a  prime  minister  and  cabinet 
with  whom  he  was  in  substantial  accord  upon  the 
most  important  public  matters  then  under  consid- 
eration, and  although  it  was  almost  impossible  to 
patch  together  any  tolerably  congruous  or  com- 
petent body  of  successors. 

Pitt   endeavored   to   form   a   cabinet,  but   was 
obliged,    with   chagrin,  to   confess   his   inability. 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  115 

At  last  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  succeeded  in 
forming  the  so-called  Rockingham  Cabinet,  a  weak 
combination,  but  far  less  unfavorable  than  its 
predecessor  towards  America.  The  Marquis  of 
Rockingham,  as  prime  minister,  had  Edmund 
Burke  as  his  private  secretary;  while  General 
Conway,  one  of  the.  very  few  who  had  opposed  the 
Stamp  Act,  now  actually  received  the  southern 
department  of  state  within  which  the  colonies  were 
included.  Still  there  seemed  little  hope  for  any 
undoing  of  the  past,  which  probably  would  never 
have  been  wrung  from  this  or  any  British  ministry 
so  long  as  all  the  discontent  was  on  the  other  side 
of  three  thousand  miles  of  ocean.  But  this  was 
ceasing  to  be  the  case.  The  American  weapon  of 
non-importation  was  proving  most  efficient.  In 
the  provinces  the  custom  of  wearing  mourning 
was  abandoned ;  no  one  killed  or  ate  lamb,  to  the 
end  that  by  the  increase  of  sheep  the  supply  of 
wool  might  be  greater;  homespun  was  now  the 
only  wear ;  no  man  would  be  seen  clad  in  English 
cloth.  In  a  word,  throughout  America  there  was 
established  what  would  now  be  called  a  thorough 
and  comprehensive  "boycott"  against  all  articles 
of  English  manufacture.  So  very  soon  the  man- 
ufacturers of  the  mother  country  began  to  find 
themselves  the  only  real  victims  of  the  Stamp  Act. 
In  America  it  was  inflicting  no  harm,  but  rather 
was  encouraging  economy,  enterprise,  and  domestic 
industry;  while  the  sudden  closing  of  so  enormous 
a  market  brought  loss   and   bankruptcy  to  many 


116  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

an  English  manufacturer  and  warehouseman. 
Shipping,  too,  was  indirectly  affected.  An  outcry 
for  the  change  of  a  disastrous  policy  swelled 
rapidly  in  the  manufacturing  and  trading  towns; 
and  erelong  the  battle  of  the  colonists  was  being 
fought  by  allies  upon  English  soil,  who  were  stim- 
ulated by  the  potent  impulse  of  self-preservation. 
These  men  cared  nothing  for  the  principle  at 
stake,  nothing  for  the  colonists  personally;  but 
they  cared  for  the  business  by  which  they  sustained 
their  own  homes,  and  they  were  resolved  that  the 
destroying  Stamp  Act  should  be  got  out  of  their 
way.  Such  an  influence  was  soon  felt.  Death 
also  came  in  aid  of  the  Americans,  removing  in 
good  time  the  Duke  of.  Cumberland,  the  merciless 
conqueror  of  Culloden,  who  now  was  all  ready  to 
fight  it  out  with  the  colonies,  and  only  thus  lost 
the  chance  to  do  so. 

Beneath  the  pressure  of  these  events  concession 
began  to  be  talked  of,  though  at  first  of  course  its 
friends  were  few  and  its  enemies  many.  Charles 
Townshend  announced  himself  able  to  contemplate 
with  equanimity  the  picture  of  the  colonies  relaps- 
ing "to  their  primitive  deserts."  But  the  trouble 
was  that  little  deserts  began  to  spot  the  face  of 
England;  and  still  the  British  merchant,  who  sel- 
dom speaks  long  in  vain,  was  increasing  his  clamor, 
and  did  not  fancy  the  prospect  of  rich  trading 
fields  reduced  to  desolation.  In  January,  1766, 
too,  the  dreaded  voice  of  Pitt  again  made  itself 
heard  in  St.  Stephen's,  sending  forth  an  eloquent 


SECOND   MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  117 

harangue  for  America:  "The  Americans  are  the 
sons,  not  the  bastards,  of  England.  As  subjects 
they  are  entitled  to  the  common  right  of  represen- 
tation, and  cannot  be  bound  to  pay  taxes  without 
their  consent.  Taxation  is  no  part  of  the  govern- 
ing power.1  The  taxes  are  a  voluntary  gift  and 
grant  by  the  Commons  alone.  In  an  American  tax 
what  do  we  do?  We,  your  Majesty's  Commons 
of  Great  Britain,  give  and  grant  to  your  Majesty 
—  what  ?  Our  own  property?  No  !  we  give 
and  grant  to  your  Majesty  the  property  of  your 
Majesty's  commons  in  America.  It  is  an  absurd- 
ity in  terms."2  "The  idea  of  a  virtual  represen- 
tation of  America  in  this  House  is  the  most  con- 
temptible that  ever  entered  into  the  head  of  man." 
"I  never  shall  own  the  justice  of  taxing  America 
internally  until  she  enjoys  the  right  of  represen- 
tation." Not  very  many  men  in  either  house  of 
Parliament  would  go  the  full  logical  length  of 
Pitt's  argument;  but  men  who  held  views  quite 
opposite  to  his  as  to  the  lawful  authority  of  Par- 
liament to  lay  this  tax  were  beginning  to  feel  that 
they  must  join  him  in  getting  it  out  of  the  way 
of  domestic  prosperity  in  England.  It  seemed  to 
them  a  mistaken  exercise  of  an  unquestionable 
right.  They  were  prepared  to  correct  the  mistake, 
which  could  be  done  without  abandoning  the  right. 

1  Grenville  had  laid  down  the  proposition  that  England  was 
u  the  sovereign,  the  supreme  legislative  power  over  America," 
and  that  "  taxation  is  a  part  of  that  sovereign  power." 

2  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  v.  385-387. 


118  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

As  this  feeling  visibly  gained  ground  the  ministry 
gathered  courage  to  consider  the  expediency  of 
introducing  a  bill  to  repeal  the  act.  Could  the 
king  have  had  his  way  they  would  not  have  sur- 
vived in  office  to  do  so.  He  would  have  had  their 
ministerial  heads  off,  as  he  had  stricken  those  of 
their  immediate  predecessors.  But  efforts  which 
he  made  to  find  successors  for  them  were  fruitless, 
and  so  they  remained  in  places  which  no  others 
could  be  induced  to  fill.  Pitt  was  sounded,  to  see 
whether  he  would  ally  himself  with  them;  but  he 
would  not.  Had  he  been  gained  the  fight  would 
not  have  come  simply  upon  the  repeal  of  the  act  as 
unsatisfactory,  but  as  being  contrary  to  the  con- 
stitution of  England.  The  narrower  battle-ground 
was  selected  by  Rockingham. 

The  immediate  forerunner  in  Parliament  of  the 
repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  was  significant.  A  reso- 
lution was  introduced  into  the  House  of  Lords, 
February  3,  1766,  that  the  "king  in  Parliament 
has  full  power  to  bind  the  colonies  and  people  of 
America  in  all  cases  whatsoever."  The  debate 
which  followed  showed  what  importance  this 
American  question  had  assumed  in  England;  the 
expression  of  feeling  was  intense,  the  display  of 
ability  very  great.  Lord  Camden  and  Lord 
Mansfield  encountered  each  other;  but  the  former, 
with  the  best  of  the  argument,  had  much  the  worst 
of  the  division.  One  hundred  and  twenty-five 
peers  voted  for  the  resolution,  only  five  against  it. 
In  the   Commons,    Pitt  assailed    the   resolution, 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  119 

with  no  better  success  than  had  attended  Camden. 
No  one  knew  how  many  voted  Nay,  but  it  was 
"less  than  ten  voices,  some  said  five  or  four,  some 
said  but  three." 1  Immediately  after  this  assertion 
of  a  principle,  the  same  Parliament  prepared  to 
set  aside  the  only  application  of  it  which  had  ever 
been  attempted.  It  was  well  understood  that  the 
repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act  was  close  at  hand. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Franklin,  who  had 
been  by  no  means  idle  during  the  long  struggle, 
appeared  as  a  witness  in  that  examination  which 
perhaps  displayed  his  ability  to  better  advantage 
than  any  other  single  act  in  his  life.  It  was  be- 
tween February  3  and  13, 1766,  that  he  and  others 
were  summoned  to  give  testimony  concerning  the 
colonies  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Commons  sit- 
ting in  committee  of  the  whole.  The  others  have 
been  forgotten,  but  his  evidence  never  will  be. 
The  proceeding  was  striking;  there  were  some  of 
the  cleverest  and  most  experienced  men  in  Eng- 
land to  question  him ;  no  one  of  them  singly  was 
his  match ;  but  there  were  many  of  them,  and  they 
conducted  an  examination  and  a  cross-examination 
both  in  one;  that  is  to  say,  those  who  wished  to 
turn  a  point  against  him  might  at  any  moment 
interpose  with  any  question  which  might  suddenly 
confuse"  or  mislead  him.  But  no  man  was  ever 
better  fitted  than  Franklin  to  play  the  part  of  a 
witness,  and  no  record  in  politics  or  in  law  can 
compare  with  the  report  of  his  testimony.  Some 
1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  v.  417. 


120  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

persons  have  endeavored  to  account  for,  which 
means  of  course  to  detract  from,  its  extraordinary 
merit  by  saying  that  some  of  the  questions  and 
replies  had  been  prearranged;  but  it  does  not 
appear  that  such  prearrangement  went  further  than 
that  certain  friendly  interrogators  had  discussed 
the  topics  with  him  so  as  to  be  familiar  with  his 
views.  Every  lawyer  does  this  with  his  witnesses. 
Nor  can  it  be  supposed  that  the  admirable  replies 
which  he  made  to  the  enemies  of  America  were 
otherwise  than  strictly  impromptu.  He  had  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  the  subject;  he  was  in  perfect 
control  of  his  head  and  his  temper ;  his  extraordi- 
nary faculty  for  clear  and  pithy  statement  never 
showed  to  better  advantage;  he  was,  as  always, 
moderate  and  reasonable;  but  above  all  the  won- 
derful element  was  the  quick  wit  and  ready  skill 
with  which  he  turned  to  his  own  service  every 
query  which  was  designed  to  embarrass  him;  and 
this  he  did  not  in  the  vulgar  way  of  flippant  retort 
or  disingenuous  twistings  of  words  or  facts,  but 
with  the  same  straightforward  and  tranquil  sim- 
plicity of  language  with  which  he  delivered  evi- 
dence for  the  friendly  examiners.  Burke  likened 
the  proceeding  to  an  examination  of  a  master  by  a 
parcel  of  schoolboys. 

Franklin  used  to  say,  betwixt  plaint  and  hu- 
mor, that  it  always  seemed  to  him  that  no  one  ever 
gave  an  abbreviation  or  an  abstract  of  anything 
which  he  had  written,  without  very  nearly  spoiling 
the  original.     This  would  be  preeminently  true  of 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  121 

an  abstract  of  this  examination;  abbreviation  can 
be  only  mutilation.  It  ranged  over  a  vast  ground, 
—  colonial  history  and  politics,  political  economy, 
theories  and  practice  in  colonial  trade,  colonial 
commerce  and  industry,  popular  opinions  and 
sentiment,  and  the  probabilities  of  action  in  sup- 
posed cases.  His  answers  made  a  great  stir;  they 
were  universally  admitted  to  have  substantially 
advanced  the  day  of  repeal.  They  constituted  the 
abundant  armory  to  which  the  friends  of  the  colo- 
nies resorted  for  weapons  offensive  and  defensive, 
for  facts  and  for  ideas.  He  himself,  with  just 
complacency,  remarked:  "The  then  ministry  was 
ready  to  hug  me  for  the  assistance  I  afforded  them." 
The  "Gentleman's  Magazine"  said:  — 

"  From  this  examination  of  Dr.  Franklin  the  reader 
may  form  a  clearer  and  more  comprehensive  idea  of  the 
state  and  disposition  in  America,  of  the  expediency  or 
inexpediency  of  the  measure  in  question,  and  of  the 
character  and  conduct  of  the  minister  who  proposed  it, 
than  from  all  that  has  been  written  upon  the  subject  in 
newspapers  and  pamphlets,  under  the  titles  of  essays, 
letters,  speeches,  and  considerations,  from  the  first 
moment  of  its  becoming  the  subject  of  public  attention 
until  now.  The  questions  in  general  are  put  with  great 
subtlety  and  judgment,  and  they  are  answered  with  such 
deep  and  familiar  knowledge  of  the  subject,  such  pre- 
cision and  perspicuity,  such  temper  and  yet  such  spirit, 
as  do  the  greatest  honor  to  Dr.  Franklin,  and  justify  the 
general  opinion  of  his  character  and  abilities." 

Like  praises  descended  from  every  quarter. 


122  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

One  interesting  fact  clearly  appears  from  this 
examination :  that  Franklin  now  fully  understood 
the  colonial  sentiment,  and  was  thoroughly  in 
accord  with  it.  Being  asked  whether  the  colonists 
"  would  submit  to  the  Stamp  Act,  if  it  were  modi- 
fied, the  obnoxious  parts  taken  out,  and  the  duty 
reduced  to  some  particulars  of  small  moment,"  he 
replied  with  brief  decision :  "  No,  they  will  never 
submit  to  it."  As  to  how  they  would  receive  "a 
future  tax  imposed  on  the  same  principle,"  he 
said,  with  the  same  forcible  brevity:  "Just  as  they 
do  this:  they  would  not  pay  it."  Q.  "Can  any- 
thing less  than  a  military  force  carry  the  Stamp 
Act  into  execution?  A.  I  do  not  see  how  a 
military  force  can  be  applied  to  that  purpose. 
Q.  Why  may  it  not?  A.  Suppose  a  military 
force  sent  into  America,  they  will  find  nobody 
in  arms.  What  are  they  then  to  do?  They 
cannot  force  a  man  to  take  stamps  who  chooses 
to  do  without  them.  They  will  not  find  a  rebel- 
lion; they  may  indeed  make  one.  Q.  If  the 
act  is  not  repealed,  what  do  you  think  will  be  the 
consequences?  A.  A  total  loss  of  the  respect 
and  affection  the  people  of  America  bear  to  this 
country,  and  of  all  the  commerce  that  depends  on 
that  respect  and  affection.  Q.  How  can  the 
commerce  be  affected?  A.  You  will  find  that  if 
the  act  is  not  repealed,  they  will  take  a  very  little 
of  your  manufactures  in  a  short  time.  Q.  Is  it 
in  their  power  to  do  without  them?  A.  The 
goods  they  take  from  Britain  are  either  necessaries, 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  123 

mere  conveniences,  or  superfluities.  The  first,  as 
cloth,  etc.,  with  a  little  industry  they  can  make  at 
home;  the  second  they  can  do  without  until  they 
are  able  to  provide  them  among  themselves;  and 
the  last,  which  are  much  the  greatest  part,  they 
will  strike  off  immediately."  This  view  of  the 
willingness  and  capacity  of  the  colonists  to  forego 
English  importations  he  elsewhere  elaborated  fully. 
The  English  merchants  knew  to  their  cost  that  he 
spoke  the  truth. 

With  reference  to  the  enforcement  of  claims  in 
the  courts,  he  was  asked  whether  the  people  would 
not  use  the  stamps  "rather  than  remain  .  .  . 
unable  to  obtain  any  right  or  recover  by  law  any 
debt?  "  He  replied:  "It  is  hard  to  say  what  they 
would  do.  I  can  only  judge  what  other  people  will 
think,  and  how  they  will  act,  by  what  I  feel 
within  myself.  I  have  a  great  many  debts  due  to 
me  in  America,  and  I  would  rather  they  should 
remain  unrecoverable  by  any  law  than  submit  to 
the  Stamp  Act." 

A  few  weeks  later  he  wrote:  "I  have  some  little 
property  in  America.  I  will  freely  spend  nineteen 
shillings  in  the  pound  to  defend  my  right  of  giving 
or  refusing  the  other  shilling.  And,  after  all, 
if  I  cannot  defend  that  right,  I  can  retire  cheer- 
fully with  my  family  into  the  boundless  woods  of 
America,  which  are  sure  to  afford  freedom  and 
subsistence  to  any  man  who  can  bait  a  hook  or  pull 
a  trigger."  The  picture  of  Dr.  Franklin,  the 
philosopher,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one,  "cheerfully  " 


124  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

sustaining  his  family  in  the  wilderness  by  the 
winnings  of  his  rod  and  his  rifle  stirs  one's  sense 
of  humor ;  but  the  paragraph  indicates  that  he  was 
in  strict  harmony  with  his  countrymen,  who  were 
expressing  serious  resolution  with  some  rhetorical 
exaggeration,  in  the  American  fashion. 

The  main  argument  of  the  colonies,  that  under 
the  British  constitution  there  could  be  no  taxation 
without  representation,  was  of  course  introduced 
into  the  examination;  and  Franklin  seized  the 
occasion  to  express  his  theory  very  ingeniously. 
Referring  to  the  fact  that,  by  the  Declaration  of 
Rights,  no  money  could  "be  raised  on  the  subject 
but  by  consent  of  Parliament,"  the  subtle  ques- 
tion was  put :  How  the  colonists  could  think  that 
they  themselves  had  a  right  to  levy  money  for 
the  crown  ?  Franklin  replied :  "  They  understand 
that  clause  to  relate  only  to  subjects  within  the 
realm ;  that  no  money  can  be  levied  on  them  for 
the  crown  but  by  consent  of  Parliament.  The 
colonies  are  not  supposed  to  be  within  the  realm; 
they  have  assemblies  of  their  own,  which  are  their 
parliaments."  This  was  a  favorite  theory  with 
him,  in  expounding  which  he  likened  the  colonies 
to  Ireland,  and  to  Scotland  before  the  union. 
Many  sentences  to  the  same  purport  occur  in  his 
writings ;  for  example :  "  These  writers  against  the 
colonies  all  bewilder  themselves  by  supposing  the 
colonies  within  the  realm,  which  is  not  the  case, 
nor  ever  was."  "If  an  Englishman  goes  into  a 
foreign    country,  he   is   subject   to  the  laws    and 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  125 

government  he  finds  there.  If  he  finds  no  govern- 
ment or  laws  there,  he  is  subject  there  to  none, 
till  he  and  his  companions,  if  he  has  any,  make 
laws  for  themselves;  and  this  was  the  case  of  the 
first  settlers  in  America.  Otherwise,  if  they  car- 
ried the  English  laws  and  power  of  Parliament 
with  them,  what  advantage  could  the  Puritans 
propose  to  themselves  by  going?"  "The  colonists 
carried  no  law  with  them;  they  carried  only  a 
power  of  making  laws,  or  adopting  such  parts  of 
the  English  law  or  of  any  other  law  as  they  should 
think  suitable  to  their  circumstances."1  Radical 
doctrines  these,  which  he  could  not  reasonably 
expect  would  find  favor  under  any  principles  of 
government  then  known  in  the  world.  To  the 
like  effect  were  other  assertions  of  his,  made  some- 
what later:  "In  fact,  the  British  Empire  is  not  a 
single  state;  it  comprehends  many."  "The  sover- 
eignty of  the  crown  I  understand.  The  sovereignty 
of  the  British  legislature  out  of  Britain  I  do  not 
understand."  "The  king,  and  not  the  King, 
Lords,  and  Commons  collectively,  is  their  sover- 
eign; and  the  king  with  their  respective  parlia- 
ments is  their  only  legislator."2  "The  Parliament 
of  Great  Britain  has  not,  never  had,  and  of  right 
never  can  have,  without  consent  given  either  be- 
fore or  after,  power  to  make  laws  of  sufficient  force 
to  bind  the  subjects  of  America  in  any  case  what- 

1  To  same  purport,  see  also  Works,  iv.  300. 

2  Concerning  this  theory,  see  Fiske's  The  Beginnings  of  New 
England,  266. 


126  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

ever,  and  particularly  in  taxation."  The  singular 
phrase  "the  subjects  of  America"  is  worth  noting. 
In  1769,  still  reiterating  the  same  principle,  he 
said:  "We  are  free  subjects  of  the  king;  and  fel- 
low subjects  of  one  part  of  his  dominions  are  not 
sovereigns  over  fellow  subjects  in  any  other  part." 
It  is  a  singular  fact  that  Franklin  long  cherished 
a  personal  regard  towards  the  king,  and  a  faith 
in  his  friendly  and  liberal  purposes  towards  the 
colonies.  Indignation  against  the  Parliament  was 
offset  by  confidence  in  George  III.  Even  so  late 
as  the  spring  of  1769,  he  writes  to  a  friend  in 
America :  "  I  hope  nothing  that  has  happened,  or 
may  happen,  will  diminish  in  the  least  our  loyalty 
to  our  sovereign,  or  affection  for  this  nation  in 
general.  I  can  scarcely  conceive  a  king  of  better 
disposition,  of  more  exemplary  virtues,  or  more 
truly  desirous  of  promoting  the  welfare  of  all  his 
subjects.  The  experience  we  have  had  of  the 
family  in  the  two  preceding  mild  reigns,  and  the 
good  temper  of  our  young  princes,  so  far  as  can 
yet  be  discovered,  promise  us  a  continuance  of  this 
felicity."  Of  the  British  people  too  he  thought 
kindly^  But  for  the  Parliament  he  could  find  no 
excuse.  He  admitted  that  it  might  be  "decent" 
indeed  to  speak  in  the  "public  papers"  of  the 
"wisdom  and  the  justice  of  Parliament;"  never- 
theless, the  ascription  of  these  qualities  to  the 
present  Parliament  certainly  was  not  true,  what- 
ever might  be  the  case  as  to  any  future  one.  The 
next  year  found  him  still  counseling  that  the  colo- 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  127 

nies  should  hold  fast  to  their  allegiance  to  their 
king,  who  had  the  best  disposition  towards  them, 
and  was  their  most  efficient  bulwark  against  "the 
arbitrary  power  of  a  corrupt  Parliament."  In  the 
summer  of  1773,  he  was  seeking  excuses  for  the 
king's  adherence  to  the  principle  that  Parliament 
could  legally  tax  the  colonies:  "when  one  con- 
siders the  king's  situation,"  with  all  his  ministers, 
advisers,  judges,  and  the  great  majority  of  both 
houses  holding  this  view,  when  "one  reflects  how 
necessary  it  is  for  him  to  be  well  with  his  Parlia- 
ment," and  that  any  action  of  his  countenancing 
a  doctrine  contrary  to  that  of  both  the  Lords  and 
the  Commons  "would  hazard  his  embroiling  him- 
self with  those  powerful  bodies,"  Franklin  was  of 
opinion  that  it  seemed  "hardly  to  be  expected 
from  him  that  he  should  take  any  step  of  that 
kind."  But  this  was  the  last  apology  which  he 
uttered  for  George  III.  He  was  about  to  reach 
the  same  estimation  of  that  monarch  which  has 
been  adopted  by  posterity.  Only  a  very  little 
later  he  writes :  "  Between  you  and  me,  the  late 
measures  have  been,  I  suspect,  very  much  the 
king's  own,  and  he  has  in  some  cases  a  great  share 
of  what  his  friends  call^rmness."  Thus  tardily, 
reluctantly,  and  at  first  gently,  the  kindly  philoso- 
pher began  to  admit  to  himself  and  others  the  truth 
as  to  his  Majesty's  disposition  and  character. 

Some  persons  in  England,  affected  by  the 
powerful  argument  of  non-representation,  pro- 
posed that  the  colonies  should  be  represented  in 


128  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

Parliament;  and  about  the  time  of  the  Stamp  Act 
the  possibility  of  such  an  arrangement  was  seri- 
ously discussed.  Franklin  was  willing  to  speak 
kindly  of  a  plan  which  was  logically  unobjection- 
able, and  which  involved  the  admission  that  the 
existing  condition  was  unjust ;  but  he  knew  very 
well  that  it  would  never  develop  into  a  practicable 
solution  of  the  problem,  and  in  fact  it  soon  dropped 
out  of  men's  minds.  January  6,  1766,  he  wrote 
that  in  his  opinion  the  measure  of  an  Union,  as  he 
shrewdly  called  it,  was  a  wise  one;  "but,"  he  said, 
"  I  doubt  it  will  hardly  be  thought  so  here  until  it 
is  too  late  to  attempt  it.  The  time  has  been  when 
the  colonies  would  have  esteemed  it  a  great  advan- 
tage, as  well  as  honor,  to  be  permitted  to  send 
members  to  Parliament,  and  would  have  asked  for 
that  privilege  if  they  could  have  had  the  least 
hopes  of  obtaining  it.  The  time  is  now  come 
when  they  are  indifferent  about  it,  and  will  prob^ 
ably  not  ask  it,  though  they  might  accept  it,  if 
offered  them ;  and  the  time  will  come  when  they 
will  certainly  refuse  it.  But  if  such  an  Union 
were  now  established  (which  methinks  it  highly 
imports  this  country  to  establish),  it  would  prob- 
ably subsist  so  long  as  Britain  shall  continue  a 
nation.  This  people,  however,  is  too  proud,  and 
too  much  despises  the  Americans  to  bear  the 
thought  of  admitting  them  to  such  an  equitable 
participation  in  the  government  of  the   whole."1 

1  To  same  purport,  see  letter  to  Evans,  May  9,  1766,  Works,  iii 
464. 


SECOND   MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  129 

Haughty  words  these,  though  so  tranquilly  spoken, 
and  which  must  have  startled  many  a  dignified 
Briton :  behold !  a  mere  colonist,  the  son  of  a  tal- 
low chandler,  is  actually  declaring  that  those  puny 
colonies  of  simple  "farmers,  husbandmen,  and 
planters"  were  already  "indifferent"  about,  and 
would  soon  feel  in  condition  to  "refuse,"  repre- 
sentation in  such  a  body  as  the  Parliament  of 
England;  also  that  it  "highly  imported"  Great 
Britain  to  seek  amalgamation  while  yet  it  could  be 
had!  But  Franklin  meant  what  he  said,  and  he 
repeated  it  more  than  once,  very  earnestly.  He 
resented  that  temper,  of  which  he  saw  so  much  on 
every  side,  and  which  he  clearly  described  by  say- 
ing that  every  individual  in  England  felt  himself 
to  be  "part  of  a  sovereign  over  America." 

Men  of  a  different  habit  of  mind  of  course  reit- 
erated the  shallow  and  threadbare  nonsense  about 
"  virtual,"  or  as  it  would  be  called  nowadays 
constructive,  representation  of  the  colonies,  liken- 
ing them  to  Birmingham,  Manchester,  and  other 
towns  which  sent  no  members  to  Parliament  —  as 
if  problems  in  politics  followed  the  rule  of  algebra, 
that  negative  quantities,  multiplied,  produce  a 
positive  quantity.  But  Franklin  concerned  him- 
self little  about  this  unreasonable  reasoning,  which 
indeed  soon  had  an  effect  eminently  disagreeable 
to  the  class  of  men  who  stupidly  uttered  it.  For 
it  was  promptly  replied  that  if  there  were  such 
large  bodies  of  unrepresented  Englishmen,  it  be- 
tokened a  wrong  state  of  affairs  in  England  also. 


130  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

If  English  freeholders  have  not  the  right  of  suf- 
frage, said  Franklin,  "they  are  injured.  Then 
rectify  what  is  amiss  among  yourselves,  and  do  not 
make  it  a  justification  of  more  wrong."1  Thus 
that  movement  began  which  in  time  brought  about 
parliamentary  reform,  another  result  of  this 
American  disturbance  which  was  extremely  dis- 
tasteful to  that  stratum  of  English  society  which 
was  most  strenuous  against  the  colonists. 

Still  another  point  which  demanded  elucidation 
was,  why  Parliament  should  not  have  the  power 
to  lay  internal  taxes  just  as  much  as  to  levy  duties. 
Grenville  said:  "External  and  internal  taxes  are 
the  same  in  effect,  and  only  differ  in  name;"  and 
the  authority  of  Parliament  to  lay  external  taxes 
had  never  been  called  in  question.  Franklin's 
examiners  tried  him  upon  this  matter:  Can  you 
show  that  there  is  any  kind  of  difference  between 
the  two  taxes,  to  the  colony  on  which  they  are 
laid?  He  answered:  "I  think  the  difference  is 
very  great.  An  external  tax  is  a  duty  laid  on 
commodities  imported;  that  duty  is  added  to  the 
first  cost  and  other  charges  on  the  commodity,  and, 
when  it  is  offered  for  sale,  makes  a  part  of  the 
price.  If  the  people  do  not  like  it  at  that  price, 
they  refuse  it;  they  are  not  obliged  to  pay  for  it. 
But  an  internal  tax  is  forced  from  the  people  with- 
out their  consent,  if  not  laid  by  their  own  repre- 
sentatives. The  Stamp  Act  says,  we  shall  have 
no  commerce,  make  no  exchange  of  property  with 

1  See  also  to  same  purport,  Works,  iv.  157. 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  131 

each  other,  neither  purchase,  nor  grant,  nor  re- 
cover debts;  we  shall  neither  marry  nor  make  our 
wills;  unless  we  pay  such  and  such  sums."  It 
was  suggested  that  an  external  tax  might  be  laid 
on  the  necessaries  of  life,  which  the  people  must 
have;  but  Franklin  said  that  the  colonies  were,  or 
very  soon  would  be,  in  a  position  to  produce  for 
themselves  all  necessaries.  He  was  then  asked 
what  was  the  difference  "between  a  duty  on  the 
importation  of  goods  and  an  excise  on  their  con- 
sumption?" He  replied  that  there  was  a  very 
material  one ;  the  excise,  for  reasons  given,  seemed 
unlawful.  "But  the  sea  is  yours;  you  maintain 
by  your  fleets  the  safety  of  navigation  in  it,  and 
keep  it  clear  of  pirates;  you  may  have,  therefore, 
a  natural  and  equitable  right  to  some  toll  or  duty 
on  merchandises  carried  through  that  part  of  your 
dominions,  towards  defraying  the  expense  you  are 
at  in  ships  to  maintain  the  safety  of  that  carriage." 
This  was  a  rather  narrow  basis  on  which  to  build 
the  broad  and  weighty  superstructure  of  the 
British  Custom  House;  but  it  was  not  to  be  ex- 
pected that  Franklin  should  supply  any  better 
arguments  upon  that  side  of  the  question.  It  was 
obvious  that  Grenville's  proposition  might  lead  to 
two  conclusions.  He  said:  External  and  internal 
taxation  are  in  principle  substantially  identical; 
we  have  the  right  to  the  former ;  therefore  we  must 
have  the  right  to  the  latter.  It  was  a  quick  reply : 
Since  you  have  not  a  right  to  the  latter,  you  can- 
not have  a  right  to  the   former.     But  Franklin, 


132  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

being  a  prudent  man,  kept  within  his  intrench- 
ments,  and  would  not  hazard  increasing  the  oppo- 
sition to  the  colonial  claims  by  occupying  this 
advanced  ground.  He  hinted  at  it,  nevertheless : 
"At  present  the  colonists  do  not  reason  so;  but 
in  time  they  possibly  may  be  convinced  by  these 
arguments;  "  and  so  they  were. 

Franklin  also  in  his  examination,  and  at  many 
other  times  and  places,  had  something  to  say  as  to 
the  willingness  of  the  colonies  to  bear  their  full 
share  of  public  burdens.  He  spoke  with  warmth 
and  feeling,  but  with  an  entire  absence  of  boast- 
fulness  or  rodomontade.  He  achieved  his  purpose 
by  simply  recalling  such  facts  as  that  the  colonies 
in  the  late  war  had  kept  25,000  troops  in  the  field; 
that  they  had  raised  sums  of  money  so  large  that 
even  the  English  Parliament  had  seen  that  they 
were  exceeding  any  reasonable  estimate  of  their 
capacity,  and  had  voted  some  partial  restitution 
to  them ;  and  that  they  had  received  thanks,  offi- 
cial and  formal  yet  apparently  sincere,  for  their 
zeal  and  their  services.  Few  Englishmen  knew 
these  things.  So,  too,  he  said,  the  Americans 
would  help  the  mother  country  in  an  European 
war,  so  far  as  they  could ;  for  they  regarded  them- 
selves as  a  part  of  the  empire,  and  really  had  an 
affection  and  loyalty  towards  England. 

On  February  21,  1766,  General  Conway  moved 
for  leave  to  introduce  into  the  House  of  Commons 
a  bill  to  repeal  the  Stamp  Act.     The  motion  was 


SECOND  MISSION  TO   ENGLAND  133 

carried.  The  next  day  the  House  divided  upon 
the  repealing  bill:  275  for  repeal,  167  against  it. 
The  minority  were  willing  greatly  to  modify  the 
act;  but  insisted  upon  its  enforcement  in  some 
shape.  The  anxious  merchants,  who  were  gathered 
in  throngs  outside,  and  who  really  had  brought 
about  the  repeal,  burst  into  jubilant  rejoicing.  A 
few  days  later,  March  4  and  5,  the  bill  took  its 
third  reading  by  a  vote  of  250  yeas  against  122 
nays.  In  the  House  of  Lords,  upon  the  second 
reading,  73  peers  voted  for  repeal,  61  against  it. 
Thirty -three  peers  thereupon  signed  and  recorded 
their  protest.  At  the  third  reading  no  division 
was  had,  but  a  second  protest,  bearing  28  signa- 
tures, was  entered.  On  March  18  the  king,  whose 
position  had  been  a  little  enigmatical,  but  who  at 
last  had  become  settled  in  opposition  to  the  bill, 
unwillingly  placed  his  signature  to  it,  and  ever 
after  regretted  having  done  so. 

When  the  good  news  reached  the  provinces 
great  indeed  was  the  gladness  of  the  people.  They 
heeded  little  that  simultaneously  with  the  repeal 
a  resolve  had  been  carried  through  declaratory  of 
the  principle  on  which  the  Stamp  Act  had  been 
based.  The  assertion  of  the  right  gave  them  at 
this  moment  "very  little  concern,"  since  they 
hugged  a  triumphant  belief  that  no  further  attempt 
would  be  made  to  carry  that  right  into  practice. 
The  people  of  Philadelphia  seemed  firmly  per- 
suaded that  the  repeal  was  chiefly  due  to  the 
unwearied  personal  exertions  of  their  able  agent. 


134  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

They  could  not  recall  their  late  distrust  of  him 
without  shame,  and  now  replaced  it  with  bound- 
less devotion.  In  the  great  procession  which  they 
made  for  the  occasion  "the  sublime  feature  was  a 
barge,  forty  feet  long,  named  FRANKLIN,  from 
which  salutes  were  fired  as  it  passed  along  the 
streets."1  That  autumn  the  old  ticket  triumphed 
again  at  the  elections  for  members  of  the  Assem- 
bly. Franklin's  own  pleasant  way  of  celebrat- 
ing the  great  event  was  by  sending  to  his  wife  "  a 
new  gown,"  with  the  message,  referring,  of  course, 
to  the  anti-importation  league:  that  he  did  not 
send  it  sooner,  because  he  knew  that  she  would  not 
like  to  be  finer  than  her  neighbors,  unless  in  a 
gown  of  her  own  spinning. 

No  American  will  find  it  difficult  to  conceive 
the  utter  ignorance  concerning  the  colonies  which 
then  prevailed  in  England;  about  their  trade, 
manufactures,  cultivated  products,  natural  re- 
sources, about  the  occupations,  habits,  manners, 
and  ideas  of  their  people,  not  much  more  was 
known  than  Americans  now  know  concerning  the 
boers  of  Cape  Colony  or  the  settlers  of  New  Zea- 
land. In  his  examination  before  the  Commons,  in 
many  papers  which  he  printed,  by  his  correspond- 
ence, and  by  his  conversation  in  all  the  various 
companies  which  he  frequented,  Franklin  exerted 
himself  with  untiring  industry  to  shed  some  rays 
into  this  darkness.  At  times  the  comical  stories 
which  he  heard  about  his  country  touched  his  sense 

1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  i.  481. 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  135 

of  humor,  with  the  happy  result  that  he  would 
throw  off  some  droll  bit  of  writing  for  a  news- 
paper, which  would  delight  the  friends  of  America 
and  make  its  opponents  feel  very  silly  even  while 
they  could  not  help  laughing  at  his  wit.  A  good 
one  of  these  was  the  paper  in  which,  he  replied, 
among  other  things,  to  the  absurd  supposition 
that  the  Americans  could  not  make  their  own 
cloth,  because  American  sheep  had  little  wool,  and 
that  little  of  poor  quality :  "  Dear  sir,  do  not  let 
us  suffer  ourselves  to  be  amused  with  such  ground- 
less objections.  The  very  tails  of  the  American 
sheep  are  so  laden  with  wool  that  each  has  a  little 
car  or  wagon  on  four  little  wheels  to  support  and 
keep  it  from  trailing  on  the  ground.  Would  they 
caulk  their  ships,  would  they  even  litter  their 
horses,  with  wool,  if  it  were  not  both  plenty  and 
cheap?  And  what  signifies  the  dearness  of  labor 
when  an  English  shilling  passes  for  five  and 
twenty?"  and  so  on.  It  is  pleasant  to  think  that 
then,  as  now,  many  a  sober  Britisher,  with  no  idea 
that  a  satirical  jest  at  his  own  expense  was  hidden 
away  in  this  extravagance,  took  it  all  for  genuine 
earnest,  and  was  sadly  puzzled  at  a  condition  of 
things  so  far  removed  from  his  own  experience. 

Very  droll  is  the  account  of  how  nearly  a  party 
of  clever  Englishmen  were  taken  in  by  the  paper 
which  purported  to  advance  the  claim  of  the  king 
of  Prussia  to  hold  England  as  a  German  province, 
and  to  levy  taxes  therein,  supported  by  precisely 
the   same   chain    of    reasoning    whereby    Britain 


136  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

claimed  the  like  right  in  respect  of  the  American 
colonies.  This  keen  and  witty  satire  had  a  bril- 
liant success,  and  while  Franklin  prudently  kept 
his  authorship  a  close  secret,  he  was  not  a  little 
pleased  to  see  how  well  his  dart  flew.  In  one  of 
his  letters  he  says :  — 

"  I  was  down  at  Lord  le  Despencer's  when  the  post 
brought  that  day's  papers.  Mr.  Whitehead  was  there, 
too,  who  runs  early  through  all  the  papers,  and  tells  the 
company  what  he  finds  remarkable.  .  .  .  We  were  chat- 
ting in  the  breakfast  parlor,  when  he  came  running  in  to 
us,  out  of  breath,  with  the  paper  in  his  hand.  '  Here,' 
says  he,  '  here  's  news  for  ye  !  Here 's  the  king  of  Prus- 
sia claiming  a  right  to  this  kingdom  ! '  All  stared,  and 
I  as  much  as  anybody;  and  he  went  on  to  read  it. 
When  he  had  read  two  or  three  paragraphs,  a  gentle- 
man present  said  :  '  Damn  their  impudence  !  I  daresay 
we  shall  hear  by  the  next  post  that  he  is  upon  his  march 
with  100,000  men  to  back  this.'  Whitehead,  who  is 
very  shrewd,  soon  after  began  to  smoke  it,  and  looking  in 
my  face  said,  '  I  '11  be  hanged  if  this  is  not  some  of  your 
American  jokes  upon  us.'  " 

Then,  amid  much  laughter,  it  was  admitted  to 
be  "a  fair  hit."  Of  a  like  nature  was  his  paper 
setting  out  "Rules  for  reducing  a  great  Empire 
to  a  small  one,"  which  prescribed  with  admirable 
satire  such  a  course  of  procedure  as  English  min- 
istries had  pursued  towards  the  American  pro- 
vinces. Lord  Mansfield  honored  it  with  his  con- 
demnation, saying  that  it  was  "very  able  and  very 
artful  indeed;  and   would  do  mischief  by  giving 


SECOND  MISSION  TO   ENGLAND  137 

here  a  bad  impression  of  the  measures  of  govern- 
ment." 

Yet  this  English  indifference  to  transatlantic 
facts  could  not  always  be  met  in  a  laughing 
mood.  It  was  too  serious,  too  unfortunate,  too 
obstinately  persisted  in  to  excite  only  ridicule.  It 
was  deplorable,  upon  the  very  verge  of  war,  and 
incredible  too,  after  all  the  warnings  that  had 
been  had,  that  there  should  be  among  Englishmen 
such  an  utter  absence  of  any  desire  to  get  accurate 
knowledge.  In  1773  Franklin  wrote:  "The  great 
defect  here  is,  in  all  sorts  of  people,  a  want  of 
attention  to  what  passes  in  such  remote  countries 
as  America;  an  unwillingness  to  read  anything 
about  them,  if  it  appears  a  little  lengthy;  and 
a  disposition  to  postpone  a  consideration  even  of 
the  things  which  they  know  they  must  at  last 
consider. "  Such  ignorance,  fertilized  by  ill  will, 
bore  the  only  fruit  which  could  grow  in  such  soil : 
abuse  and  vilification.  Yet  all  the  while  the 
upper  classes  in  France,  with  their  eyes  well  open 
to  a  condition  of  things  which  seemed  to  threaten 
England,  were  keen  enough  in  their  desire  for 
knowledge,  translating  all  Franklin's  papers,  and 
keeping  up  constant  communication  with  him 
through  their  embassy.  Patient  in  others  of  those 
faults  of  vehemence  and  prejudice  which  had  no 
place  in  his  own  nature,  Franklin  endured  long 
the  English  provocations  and  retorted  only  with  a 
wit  too  perfect  to  be  personal,  with  unanswerable 
arguments,  and  with  simple  recitals  of  facts.     But 


138  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

we  shall  see,  later  on,  that  there  came  an  occasion, 
just  before  his  departure,  when  even  his  temper 
gave  way.  It  was  not  surprising,  for  the  blood- 
letting point  had  then  been  reached  by  both 
peoples. 

Franklin's  famous  examination  and  his  other 
efforts  in  behalf  of  the  colonies  were  appreciated 
by  his  countrymen  outside  of  Pennsylvania.  He 
was  soon  appointed  agent  also  for  New  Jersey, 
Georgia,  and  Massachusetts.  The  last  office  was 
conferred  upon  him  in  the  autumn  of  1770,  by  no 
means  without  a  struggle.  Samuel  Adams,  a  man 
as  narrow  as  Franklin  was  broad,  as  violent  as 
Franklin  was  calm,  as  bigoted  a  Puritan  as  Frank- 
lin was  liberal  a  Free-thinker,  felt  towards  Frank- 
lin that  distrust  and  dislike  which  a  limited  but 
intense  mind  often  cherishes  towards  an  intel- 
lect whose  vast  scope  and  noble  serenity  it  can- 
not comprehend.  Adams  accordingly  strenuously 
opposed  the  appointment.  It  was  plausibly  sug- 
gested that  Franklin  already  held  other  agencies, 
and  that  policy  would  advise  "to  enlarge  the  num- 
ber of  our  friends."  It  was  meanly  added  that  he 
held  an  office  under  the  crown,  and  that  his  son 
was  a  royal  governor.  Other  ingenious,  insidious, 
and  personal  objections  were  urged.  Fortunately, 
however,  it  was  in  vain  to  array  such  points  against 
Franklin's  reputation.  Samuel  Cooper  wrote  to 
him  that,  though  the  House  had  certainly  been 
much  divided,  "yet  such  was  their  opinion  of  your 
abilities   and  integrity,   that   a   majority   readily 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  139 

committed  the  affairs  of  the  province  at  this  criti- 
cal season  to  your  care."  By  reason  of  this  com- 
bination of  agencies,  besides  his  own  personal 
capacity  and  prestige,  Franklin  seemed  to  become 
in  the  eyes  of  the  English  the  representative  of  all 
America.  In  spite  of  the  unpopularity  attaching 
to  the  American  cause,  the  position  was  one  of 
some  dignity,  greatly  enhanced  by  the  respect  in- 
spired by  the  ability  with  which  Franklin  filled  it, 
ability  which  was  recognized  no  less  by  the  ene- 
mies than  by  the  friends  of  the  provinces.  It  was 
also  a  position  of  grave  responsibility;  and  it 
ought  to  have  been  one  of  liberal  emolument,  but 
it  was  not.  The  sum  of  his  four  salaries  should 
have  been  <£1200 ;  but  only  Pennsylvania  and  New 
Jersey  actually  paid  him.  Massachusetts  would 
have  paid,  but  the  bills  making  the  appropriations 
were  obstinately  vetoed  by  the  royalist  governor.1 
Yet  this  matter  of  income  was  important  to  him, 
and  it  was  at  no  slight  personal  sacrifice  that  he 
was  now  serving  his  country.  He  had  a  moderate 
competence,  but  his  expenses  were  almost  doubled 
by  living  thus  apart  from  his  family,  while  his 
affairs  suffered  by  reason  of  his  absence.  For  a 
while  he  was  left  unmolested  in  the  postmaster- 
ship,  and  in  view  of  all  the  circumstances  it  must 
be  confessed  that  the  ministry  behaved  very  well 
to  him  in  this  particular.  Rumors  which  occa- 
sionally reached  his  ears  made  him  uncomfortably 
aware  how  precarious  his  tenure  of  this  position 

1  Franklin's  Works,  iv.  88. 


140  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

really  was.  His  prolonged  absence  certainly  gave 
an  abundantly  fair  pretext  for  his  removal;  still 
advantage  was  not  taken  of  it.  Some  of  his  ene- 
mies, as  he  wrote  in  December,  1770,  by  plentiful 
abuse  endeavored  to  provoke  him  to  resign;  but 
they  found  him  sadly  "deficient  in  that  Christian 
virtue  of  resignation."  It  was  not  until  1774, 
after  the  episode  of  the  Hutchinson  letters  and 
the  famous  hearing  before  the  privy  council,  that 
he  was  actually  displaced.  If  this  forbearance 
of  the  ministry  was  attributable  to  magnanimity, 
it  stands  out  in  prominent  inconsistence  with 
the  general  course  of  official  life  in  England  at 
that  time.  Probably  no  great  injustice  would  be 
done  in  suggesting  a  baser  motive.  The  ministry 
doubtless  aimed  at  one  or  both  of  two  things :  to 
keep  a  certain  personal  hold  upon  him,  which 
might,  insensibly  to  himself,  mollify  his  actions; 
and  to  discredit  him  among  his  countrymen  by 
precisely  such  fleers  as  had  been  cast  against  him 
in  the  Massachusetts  Assembly.  More  than  once 
they  sought  to  seduce  him  by  offers  of  office;  it 
was  said  that  he  could  have  been  an  Under-Secre- 
tary of  state,  had  he  been  willing  to  qualify  him- 
self for  the  position  by  modifying  his  views  on 
colonial  questions.  More  than  once,  too,  gossip 
circulated  in  America  that  some  such  bargain  had 
been  struck,  a  slander  which  was  cruel  and  ignoble 
indeed,  when  the  opportunity  and  temptation  may 
be  said  to  have  been  present  any  and  every  day 
during  many  years  without  ever  receiving  even  a 


SECOND  MISSION  TO   ENGLAND  141 

moment  of  doubtful  consideration.  Yet  for  this 
the  English  ministry  are  believed  not  to  have  been 
wholly  responsible,  since  some  of  these  tales  are 
supposed  to  have  been  the  unworthy  work  of 
Arthur  Lee  of  Virginia.  This  young  man,  a  stu- 
dent at  one  of  the  Inns  of  Court  in  London,  was 
appointed  by  the  Massachusetts  Assembly  as  a 
successor  to  fill  Franklin's  place  whenever  the  lat- 
ter should  return  to  Pennsylvania.  For  at  the 
time  it  was  anticipated  that  this  return  would  soon 
occur;  but  circumstances  interfered  and  prolonged 
Franklin's  usefulness  abroad  during  several  years 
more.  The  heir  apparent,  who  was  ambitious, 
could  not  brook  the  disappointment  of  this  delay; 
and  though  kindly  treated  and  highly  praised  by 
the  unsuspicious  Franklin,  he  gave  nothing  but 
malice  in  return.  It  is  perhaps  not  fully  proved, 
yet  it  is  certainly  well  suspected  by  historians, 
that  his  desire  to  wreak  injury  upon  Franklin 
became  such  a  passion  as  caused  him  in  certain 
instances  to  forget  all  principles  of  honor,  to  say 
nothing  of  honesty. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SECOND   MISSION   TO   ENGLAND,    II 

In  order  to  continue  the  narrative  of  events 
with  due  regard  to  chronological  order  it  is  neces- 
sary to  revert  to  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act. 
The  repealing  act  was  fully  as  unpopular  in  Eng- 
land as  the  repealed  act  had  been  in  America.  It 
was  brought  about  by  no  sense  of  justice,  by  no 
good  will  toward  the  colonists,  but  solely  by  reason 
of  the  injury  which  the  law  was  causing  in  Eng- 
land, and  which  was  forced  upon  the  reluctant 
consideration  of  Parliament  by  the  urgent  clamor 
of  the  suffering  merchants;  also  perhaps  in  some 
degree  by  a  disinclination  to  send  an  army  across 
the  Atlantic,  and  by  the  awkward  difficulty  sug- 
gested by  Franklin  when  he  said  that  if  troops 
should  be  sent  they  would  find  no  rebellion,  no 
definite  form  of  resistance,  against  which  they 
could  act.  The  repeal,  therefore,  though  carried 
by  a  large  majority,  was  by  no  means  to  be  con- 
strued as  an  acknowledgment  of  error  in  an  as- 
serted principle,  but  only  as  an  unavoidable  ad- 
mission of  a  mistake  in  the  application  of  that 
principle.  The  repealing  majority  grew  out  of  a 
strange  coalition  of  men  of  the  most  opposite  ways 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  143 

of  thinking  concerning  the  fundamental  question. 
For  example,  Charles  Townshend  was  a  repealer, 
yet  all  England  did  not  hold  a  man  who  was  more 
wedded  than  was  Townshend  to  the  idea  of  levying 
internal  taxes  in  the  colonies  by  act  of  Parliament. 
The  notion  had  been  his  own  mischievous  legacy 
to  Grenville,    but  he  now   felt  that  it  had  been 
clumsily  used  by  his  legatee.     Many  men  agreed 
with  him,  and  the  prevalence  of  this  opinion  was 
made  obvious  by  the  passage,  almost   simultane- 
ously, of  the  resolution  declaratory  of  the  right  of 
parliamentary   taxation.      But   the   solace   of   an 
empty   assertion   was   wholly  inadequate  to  heal 
the  deep  wound  which  English  pride  had  received. 
The  great  nation  had  been   fairly   hounded  into 
receding  before  the  angry  resistance  of  a  parcel  of 
provincials  dwelling  far  away  across  the  sea;  the 
recession  was  not  felt  to  be  an  act  of  magnanimity 
or  generosity  or  even  of  justice,  but  only  a  bitter 
humiliation   and  indignity.     Poor   Grenville,  the 
responsible  adviser  of  the  blundering  and  unfor- 
tunate measure,  lost  almost   as  much  prestige  as 
Franklin  gained.     It  was  hard  luck  for  him;  he 
was  as  honest  in  his  convictions  as  Franklin  was 
in  the  opposite  faith,  and  he  was  a  far  abler  min- 
ister than  the  successor  charged  to  undo  his  work. 
But  his  knowledge  of  colonial  facts  was  very  in- 
sufficient, and  the  light  in  which  he  viewed  them 
was  hopelessly  false.     Franklin  had  a  knowledge 
immeasurably  greater,   and  was  almost  incapable 
of   an   error  of  judgment;  of   all  the  reputation 


144  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

which  was  won  or  lost  in  this  famous  contest  he 
gathered  the  lion's  share;  he  was  the  hero  of  the 
colonists;  his  ability  was  recognized  impartially 
by  both  the  contending  parties  in  England,  and 
he  was  marked  as  a  great  man  by  those  astute 
French  statesmen  who  were  watching  with  delight 
the  opening  of  this  very  promising  rift  in  the 
British  Empire. 

Anger,  like  water,  subsides  quickly  after  the 
tempest  ceases.  As  each  day  in  its  flight  carried 
the  Stamp  Act  and  the  repeal  more  remotely  into 
past  history,  the  sanguine  and  peaceably  minded 
began  to  hope  that  England  and  the  colonies  might 
yet  live  comfortably  in  union.  It  only  seemed 
necessary  that  for  a  short  time  longer  no  fresh 
provocation  should  revive  animosities  which  seemed 
composing  themselves  to  slumber.  The  colonists 
tried  to  believe  that  England  had  learned  wisdom; 
Englishmen  were  cautious  about  committing  a 
second  blunder.  In  such  a  time  Franklin  was  the 
best  man  whom  his  countrymen  could  have  had 
in  England.  His  tranquil  temperament,  his  warm 
regard  for  both  sides,  his  wonderful  capacity  for 
living  well  with  men  who  could  by  no  means  live 
well  with  each  other,  his  social  tact,  and  the  re- 
spect which  his  abilities  inspired,  all  combined  to 
enable  him  now  more  than  ever  to  fill  admirably 
the  position  of  colonial  representative.  The  effect 
of  such  an  influence  is  not  to  be  seen  in  any  single 
noteworthy  occurrence,  but  is  known  by  a  thou- 
sand lesser  indications,   and  it   is  unquestionable 


SECOND  MISSION   TO   ENGLAND  145 

that  no  American  representative  even  to  this  day 
has  ever  been  held  in  Europe  in  such  estimation 
as  was  accorded  to  Franklin  at  this  time.  He 
continued  writing  and  instructing  upon  American 
topics,  but  to  what  has  already  been  said  concern- 
ing his  services  and  opinions  abroad,  there  is  no- 
thing of  importance  to  be  added  occurring  within 
two  or  three  years  after  the  repeal.  While,  how- 
ever, he  played  the  often  thankless  part  of  in- 
structor to  the  English,  he  had  the  courage  to 
assume  the  even  less  popular  role  of  a  moderator 
towards  the  colonists.  He  made  it  his  task  to 
soothe  passion  and  to  preach  reason.  He  did  not 
do  this  as  a  trimmer;  never  was  one  word  of 
compromise  uttered  by  him  throughout  all  these 
alarming  years.  But  he  dreaded  that  weakness 
which  is  the  inevitable  reaction  from  excess;  and 
he  was  supremely  anxious  to  secure  that  trustworthy 
strength  which  is  impossible  without  moderation. 
What  he  profoundly  wished  was  that  the  "fatal 
period  "  of  war  and  separation  should  be  as  much 
as  possible  "postponed,  and  that  whenever  this 
catastrophe  shall  happen  it  may  appear  to  all  man- 
kind that  the  fault  has  not  been  ours."  Yet  he 
fell  far  short  of  the  Christian  principle  of  turning 
to  the  smiter  the  other  cheek.  He  wished  the  colo- 
nists to  keep  a  steady  front  face,  and  only  be- 
sought them  not  to  rush  forward  so  foolishly  fast 
as  to  topple  over,  of  which  ill-considered  violence 
there  was  much  danger.  Of  course  the  usual 
result  of  such  efforts   overtook  him.      He   wrote 


146  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

somewhat  sadly,  in  1768:  "Being  born  and  bred 
in  one  of  the  countries,  and  having  lived  long  and 
made  many  agreeable  connections  of  friendship  in 
the  other,  I  wish  all  prosperity  to  both ;  but  I  have 
talked  and  written  so  much  and  so  long  on  the 
subject,  that  my  acquaintance  are  weary  of  hear- 
ing and  the  public  of  reading  any  more  of  it, 
which  begins  to  make  me  weary  of  talking  and 
writing;  especially  as  I  do  not  find  that  I  have 
gained  any  point  in  either  country,  except  that  of 
rendering  myself  suspected  by  my  impartiality ;  — 
in  England  of  being  too  much  an  American,  and 
in  America  of  being  too  much  an  Englishman." 
More  than  once  he  repeated  this  last  sentence  with 
much  feeling.  But  whatever  there  was  of  personal 
discouragement  or  despondency  in  this  letter  was 
only  a  temporary  frame  of  mind.  Dr.  Franklin 
never  really  slackened  his  labors  in  a  business 
which  he  had  so  much  at  heart  as  this  of  the  rela- 
tionship of  the  colonies  to  the  mother  country. 
Neither,  it  is  safe  to  say,  did  he  ever  bore  any  one 
by  what  he  wrote  or  by  what  he  said,  though  his 
witty  effusions  in  print  were  usually  anonymous, 
and  only  some  of  his  soberer  and  argumentative 
papers  announced  their  paternity. 

The  agony  with  which  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp 
Act  was  effected  racked  too  severely  the  feeble 
joints  of  the  Rockingham  ministry,  and  that  ill- 
knit  body  soon  began  to  drop  to  pieces.  A  new 
incumbent  was  sought  for  the  department  which 
included  the  colonies,  but  that  position  seemed  to 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  147 

be  shunned  with  a  sort  of  terror;  no  one  loved 
office  enough  to  seek  it  in  this  niche ;  no  one  could 
expect  comfort  in  a  chamber  haunted  by  such  rest- 
less ghosts.  Early  in  July,  at  the  earnest  solici- 
tation of  the  king,  Pitt  endeavored  not  so  much  to 
form  a  new  ministry  as  to  revamp  the  existing 
one.  He  partially  succeeded,  but  not  without 
difficulty.  The  result  seemed  to  promise  well  for 
the  colonies,  since  the  new  cabinet  contained  their 
chief  friends:  Pitt  himself,  Shelburne,  Camden, 
Conway,  names  all  justly  esteemed  by  America. 
Yet  all  these  were  fully  offset  by  the  audacious 
Charles  Townshend,  the  originator  and  great 
apostle  of  the  scheme  of  colonial  taxation,  whom 
Pitt,  much  against  his  will,  had  been  obliged  to 
place  in  the  perilous  post  of  chancellor  of  the 
exchequer.  It  was  true  that  Lord  Shelburne 
undertook  the  care  of  the  colonies,  and  that  no 
Englishman  cherished  better  dispositions  towards 
them;  but  he  had  to  encounter  two  difficulties, 
neither  of  which  could  be  overcome.  The  one  was 
that  Townshend' s  views  were  those  which  soon 
proved  not  only  to  be  coincident  with  those  of  the 
king,  but  also  to  be  popular  in  Parliament;  the 
other  was  that,  while  he  had  the  administration 
of  colonial  affairs,  Townshend  had  the  function  of 
introducing  schemes  of  taxation.  So  long  as  he 
remained  in  office  he  administered  all  the  busi- 
ness of  the  colonies  in  the  spirit  of  liberal  reform. 
No  reproach  was  ever  brought  against  his  justice, 
his  generosity,  his  enlightened  views  of  govern- 


148  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

ment.  But  unfortunately  all  that  he  had  to  do, 
being  strictly  in  the  way  of  administration,  such 
as  the  restraining  over-loyal  governors,  the  amel- 
ioration of  harsh  legislation,  and  universal  mod- 
eration -in  language  and  behavior,  could  avail 
comparatively  little  so  long  as  Townshend,  whom 
Pitt  used  to  call  "the  incurable,"  could  threaten 
and  bring  in  obnoxious  revenue  measures. 

Shelburne  had  the  backing  of  Pitt ;  but,  by  ill 
luck,  so  soon  as  the  cabinet  was  formed,  Pitt 
ceased  to  be  Pitt,  and  became  the  Earl  of  Chat- 
ham ;  and  with  the  loss  of  his  own  name  he  lost 
also  more  than  half  of  his  power.  Moreover  the 
increasing  infirmities  of  his  body  robbed  him  of 
efficiency  and  impaired  his  judgment.  He  was 
utterly  unable  to  keep  in  subordination  his  reck- 
less chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  betwixt  whom 
and  himself  no  good  will  had  ever  existed.  On 
the  other  hand,  this  irrepressible  Townshend  had 
a  far  better  ally  in  George  III.,  who  sympathized 
in  his  purposes,  gave  him  assistance  which  was 
none  the  less  powerful  for  being  indirect  and 
occult,  and  who  hated  and  ingeniously  thwarted 
Shelburne.  Moreover,  as  has  been  said,  it  was 
a  popular  delusion  that  Townshend  had  excep- 
tionally full  and  accurate  knowledge  concerning 
American  affairs.  His  self-confident  air,  making 
assurance  of  success,  won  for  him  one  half  of  the 
battle  by  so  sure  a  presage  of  victory.  He  lured 
the  members  of  the  House  by  showing  them  a 
considerable    remission   in  their  own  taxes,   pro- 


SECOND  MISSION  TO   ENGLAND  149 

vided  they  would  stand  by  his  scheme  of  repla- 
cing the  deficit  by  an  income  from  the  colonies; 
and  he  boldly  assured  his  delighted  auditors  that 
he  knew  "the  mode  by  which  a  revenue  could  be 
drawn  from  America  without  offense."  He  was 
of  the  thoughtless  class  which  learns  no  lesson. 
He  still  avowed  himself  "a  firm  advocate  of  the 
Stamp  Act,"  and  with  cheerful  scorn  he  "laughed 
at  the  absurd  distinction  between  internal  and  ex- 
ternal taxes."  He  did  not  expect,  he  merrily  said, 
alluding  to  the  distinction  just  conferred  upon 
Chatham,  to  have  his  statue  erected  in  America. 
The  reports  of  his  speeches  kept  the  colonial  mind 
disquieted.  The  act  requiring  the  provinces  in 
which  regiments  were  quartered  to  provide  bar- 
racks and  rations  for  the  troops  at  the  public  ex- 
pense was  a  further  irritation.  Shelburne  sought 
to  make  the  burden  as  easy  as  possible,  but 
Townshend  made  Shelburne 's  duties  as  hard  as 
possible.  Of  what  use  were  the  minister's  liberal- 
ity and  moderation,  when  the  chancellor  of  the 
exchequer  evoked  alarm  and  wrath  by  announcing 
insolently  that  he  was  for  governing  the  Americans 
as  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  and  for  restraining 
their  trade  and  manufactures  in  subordination  to 
those  of  the  mother  country!  So  the  struggle 
went  on  within  the  ministry  as  well  as  without  it ; 
but  the  opponents  of  royal  prejudice  were  heavily 
handicapped ;  for  the  king,  though  stupid  in  gen- 
eral, had  some  political  skill  and  much  authority. 
His  ill-concealed  personal  hostility  to  his  "enemy," 


150  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

as  he  called  Shelburne,  threatened  like  the  little 
cloud  in  the  colonial  horizon.  Nor  was  it  long 
before  Chatham,  a  dispirited  wreck,  withdrew  him- 
self entirely  from  all  active  participation  in  affairs, 
shut  himself  up  at  Hayes,  and  refused  to  be  seen 
by  any  one  who  wished  to  talk  on  business. 

On  May  13,  1767,  colonial  agents  and  mer- 
chants trading  to  America  were  refused  admission 
to  hear  the  debates  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
Upon  that  day  Townshend  was  to  develop  his 
scheme.  By  way,  as  it  were,  of  striking  a  key- 
note, he  proposed  that  the  province  of  New  York 
should  be  restrained  from  enacting  any  legislation 
until  it  should  comply  with  the  "billeting  act," 
against  which  it  had  heretofore  been  recalcitrant. 
He  then  sketched  a  scheme  for  an  American  board 
of  commissioners  of  customs.  Finally  he  came 
to  the  welcome  point  of  the  precise  taxes  which 
he  designed  to  levy :  he  proposed  duties  on  wine, 
oil,  and  fruits,  imported  directly  into  the  colonies 
from  Spain  and  Portugal;  also  on  glass,  paper, 
lead,  colors,  and  china,  and  three  pence  per  pound 
on  tea.  The  governors  and  chief  justices,  most 
of  whom  were  already  appointed  by  the  king,  but 
who  got  their  pay  by  vote  of  the  colonial  assem- 
blies, were  hereafter  to  have  fixed  salaries,  to  be 
paid  by  the  king  from  this  American  revenue. 
Two  days  later  the  resolutions  were  passed,  direct- 
ing the  introduction  of  bills  to  carry  out  these 
several  propositions,  and  a  month  later  the  bills 
themselves  were  passed. 


SECOND  MISSION  TO   ENGLAND  151 

Meantime  the  cabinet  was  again  getting  very 
rickety,  and  many  heads  were  busy  with  sugges- 
tions for  patching  it  in  one  part  or  another.  With 
Chatham  in  retreat  and  the  king  in  the  ascendant, 
it  seemed  that  Townshend  had  the  surest  seat. 
But  there  is  one  risk  against  which  even  monarchs 
cannot  insure  their  favorites,  and  that  risk  now 
fell  out  against  Townshend.  He  died  suddenly 
of  a  fever,  in  September,  1767.  Lord  North  suc- 
ceeded him,  destined  to  do  everything  which  his 
royal  master  desired  him  to  do,  and  bitterly  to 
repent  it.  A  little  later,  in  December,  the  king 
scored  another  success ;  Shelburne  was  superseded 
in  the  charge  of  the  colonies  by  the  Earl  of  Hills- 
borough, who  reentered  the  board  of  trade  as  first 
commissioner,  and  came  into  the  cabinet  with  the 
new  title  of  secretary  of  state  for  the  colonies. 

Hillsborough  was  an  Irish  peer,  with  some  little 
capacity  for  business,  but  of  no  more  than  moder- 
ate general  ability.  He  also  was  supposed,  alto- 
gether erroneously,  to  possess  a  little  more  know- 
ledge, or,  as  it  might  have  been  better  expressed, 
to  be  shackled  with  a  little  less  ignorance,  con- 
cerning colonial  affairs  than  could  be  predicated  of 
most  of  the  noblemen  who  were  eligible  for  public 
office.  America  had  acquired  so  much  importance 
that  the  reputation  of  familiarity  with  its  condi- 
tion was  an  excellent  recommendation  for  prefer- 
ment. Franklin  wrote  that  this  change  in  the 
ministry  was  "very  sudden  and  unexpected;  "  and 
that  "whether  my  Lord  Hillsborough's  adminis- 


152  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

tration  will  be  more  stable  than  others  have  been 
for  a  long  time,  is  quite  uncertain ;  but  as  his  incli- 
nations are  rather  favorable  towards  us  (so  far 
as  he  thinks  consistent  with  what  he  supposes  the 
unquestionable  rights  of  Britain),  I  cannot  but 
wish  it  may  continue." 

It  was  Franklin's  temperament  to  be  hopeful, 
and  he  also  purposely  cultivated  the  wise  habit 
of  not  courting  ill  fortune  by  anticipating  it.  In 
this  especial  instance,  however,  he  soon  found 
that  his  hopefulness  was  misplaced.  Within  six 
months  he  discovered  that  this  new  secretary 
looked  upon  the  provincial  agents  "with  an  evil 
eye,  as  obstructors  of  ministerial  measures,"  and 
would  be  well  pleased  to  get  rid  of  them  as  "un- 
necessary "  impediments  in  the  transaction  of 
business.  "In  truth,"  he  adds,  "the  nominations, 
particularly  of  Dr.  Lee  and  myself,  have  not  been 
at  all  agreeable  to  his  lordship."  It  soon  appeared 
that  his  lordship  had  the  Irish  quickness  for  taking 
a  keen  point  of  law ;  he  broached  the  theory  that 
no  agent  could  lawfully  be  appointed  by  the  mere 
resolution  of  an  assembly,  but  that  the  appoint- 
ment must  be  made  by  bill.  The  value  of  this 
theory  is  obvious  when  we  reflect  that  a  bill  did 
not  become  law,  and  consequently  an  appointment 
could  not  be  completed,  save  by  the  signature  of 
the  provincial  governor.  "This  doctrine,  if  he 
could  establish  it,"  said  Franklin,  "would  in  a 
manner  give  to  his  lordship  the  power  of  appoint- 
ing, or,  at   least,  negativing   any   choice   of   the 


SECOND  MISSION   TO   ENGLAND  153 

House  of  Representatives  and  Council,  since  it 
would  be  easy  for  him  to  instruct  the  governor 
not  to  assent  to  the  appointment  of  such  and  such 
men,  who  are  obnoxious  to  him;  so  that  if  the 
appointment  is  annual,  every  agent  that  valued  his 
post  must  consider  himself  as  holding  it  by  the 
favor  of  his  lordship;"  whereof  the  consequences 
were  easy  to  be  seen. 

There  was  a  lively  brush  between  the  noble 
secretary  and  Franklin,  when  the  former  first  pro- 
pounded this  troublesome  view.  It  was  in  Janu- 
ary, 1771,  that  Franklin  called  upon  his  lord- 
ship— 

"  to  pay  my  respects  .  .  .  and  to  acquaint  him  with  my 
appointment  by  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay  to  be  their  agent  here."  But  his  lordship 
interrupted  :  — 

"  I  must  set  you  right  there,  Mr.  Franklin  ;  you  are 
not  agent. 

"  Why,  my  lord  ? 

"  You  are  not  appointed. 

"  I  do  not  understand  your  lordship ;  I  have  the  ap- 
pointment in  my  pocket. 

"  You  are  mistaken ;  I  have  later  and  better  advices. 
I  have  a  letter  from  Governor  Hutchinson  ;  he  would 
not  give  his  assent  to  the  bill. 

"  There  was  no  bill,  my  lord  ;  it  was  a  vote  of  the 
House. 

"  There  was  a  bill  presented  to  the  governor  for  the 
purpose  of  appointing  you  and  another,  one  Dr.  Lee  1 
think  he  is  called,  to  which  the  governor  refused  his 
assent. 


154  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

"I  cannot  understand  this,  my  lord;  I  think  there 
must  be  some  mistake  in  it.  Is  your  lordship  quite 
sure  that  you  have  such  a  letter  ? 

"  I  will  convince  you  of  it  directly  ;  Mr.  Pownall  will 
come  in  and  satisfy  you." 

So  Mr.  Pownall,  invoked  by  the  official  bell, 
appeared  upon  the  scene.  But  he  could  not  play 
his  part;  he  was  obliged  to  say  that  there  was 
no  such  letter.  This  was  awkward;  but  Franklin 
was  too  civil  or  too  prudent  to  triumph  in  the 
discomfiture  of  the  other.  He  simply  offered  the 
"authentic  copy  of  the  vote  of  the  House"  ap- 
pointing him,  and  asked  if  his  lordship  would 
"please  to  look  at  it."  His  lordship  took  the 
paper  unwillingly,  and  then,  without  looking  at 
it,  said:  — 

"  An  information  of  this  kind  is  not  properly  brought 
to  me  as  secretary  of  state.  The  board  of  trade  is  the 
proper  place. 

"  I  will  leave  the  paper  then  with  Mr.  Pownall  to 
be  — 

"  (Hastily.)  To  what  end  would  you  leave  it  with 
him? 

"  To  be  entered  on  the  minutes  of  the  board,  as  usual. 

"  (Angrily.)  It  shall  not  be  entered  there.  No  such 
paper  shall  be  entered  there  while  I  have  anything  to  do 
with  the  business  of  that  board.  The  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives has  no  right  to  appoint  an  agent.  We  shall 
take  no  notice  of  any  agents  but  such  as  are  appointed 
by  acts  of  Assembly,  to  which  the  governor  gives  his 
assent.     We  have  had  confusion  enough  already.     Here 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  155 

is  one  agent  appointed  by  the  Council,  another  by  the 
House  of  Representatives.1  Which  of  these  is  agent  for 
the  province  ?  Who  are  we  to  hear  in  provincial  affairs  ? 
An  agent  appointed  by  act  of  Assembly  we  can  under- 
stand. No  other  will  be  attended  to  for  the  future,  I 
can  assure  you. 

"  I  cannot  conceive,  my  lord,  why  the  consent  of  the 
governor  should  be  thought  necessary  to  the  appointment 
of  an  agent  for  the  people.     It  seems  to  me  that  — 

"  ( With  a  mixed  look  of  anger  and  contempt.)  I 
shall  not  enter  into  a  dispute  with  you,  Sir,  upon  this 
subject. 

"  I  beg  your  lordship's  pardon ;  I  do  not  mean  to 
dispute  with  your  lordship.  I  would  only  say  that  it 
appears  to  me  that  every  body  of  men  who  cannot  appear 
in  person,  where  business  relating  to  them  may  be  trans- 
acted, should  have  a  right  to  appear  by  an  agent.  The 
concurrence  of  the  governor  does  not  seem  to  be  neces- 
sary. It  is  the  business  of  the  people  that  is  to  be 
done  ;  he  is  not  one  of  them ;  he  is  himself  an  agent. 

"  (Hastily.)     Whose  agent  is  he  ? 

"  The  king's,  my  lord. 

"  No  such  matter.  He  is  one  of  the  corporation  by 
the  province  charter.  No  agent  can  be  appointed  but 
by  an  act,  nor  any  act  pass  without  his  assent.  Besides, 
this  proceeding  is  directly  contrary  to  express  in- 
structions. 

"  I  did  not  know  there  had  been  such  instructions. 
I  am  not  concerned  in  any  offense  against  them,  and  — 

1  The  agent  for  the  Council,  Mr.  Bollan,  acted  in  entire  accord 
with  Dr.  Franklin ;  there  was  no  inconsistency  between  the  two 
offices,  which  were  altogether  distinct,  neither  any  clashing  be- 
tween the  incumbents,  as  might  be  inferred  from  Lord  Hillsbor- 
ough's language. 


156  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

"  Yes,  your  offering  such  a  paper  to  be  entered  is  an 
offense  against  them.  No  such  appointment  shall  be  en- 
tered. When  I  came  into  the  administration  of  Amer- 
ican affairs  I  found  them  in  great  disorder.  By  my 
firmness  they  are  now  something  mended  ;  and  while  I 
have  the  honor  to  hold  the  seals  I  shall  continue  the 
same  conduct,  the  same  firmness.  I  think  my  duty  to 
the  master  I  serve,  and  to  the  government  of  this  nation, 
requires  it  of  me.  If  that  conduct  is  not  approved,  they 
may  take  that  office  from  me  when  they  please  :  I  shall 
make  them  a  bow  and  thank  them  ;  I  shall  resign  with 
pleasure.  That  gentleman  [Mr.  Pownall]  knows  it ; 
but  while  I  continue  in  it  I  shall  resolutely  persevere  in 
the  same  firmness." 

Speaking  thus,  his  lordship  seemed  warm,  and 
grew  pale,  as  if  "angry  at  something  or  somebody 
besides  the  agent,  and  of  more  consequence  to 
himself."  Franklin  thereupon,  taking  back  his 
credentials,  said,  speaking  with  an  innuendo  aimed 
at  that  which  had  not  been  expressed,  but  which 
lay  plainly  visible  behind  his  lordship's  pallor  and 
excitement :  — 

"  I  beg  your  lordship's  pardon  for  taking  up  so  much 
of  your  lordship's  time.  It  is,  I  believe,  of  no  great 
importance  whether  the  appointment  is  acknowledged  or 
not,  for  T  have  not  the  least  conception  that  an  agent 
can,  at  present,  be  of  any  use  to  any  of  the  colonies.  I 
shall  therefore  give  your  lordship  no  further  trouble." 

Therewith  he  made  his  exit,  and  went  home  to 
write  the  foregoing  sketch  of  the  scene.  Certainly 
throughout  so  irritating  an  interview  he  had  con- 


SECOND  MISSION  TO   ENGLAND  157 

ducted  himself  with  creditable  self-restraint  and 
moderation,  yet  with  his  closing  sentence  he  had 
sent  home  a  dart  which  rankled.  He  soon  heard 
that  his  lordship  "took  great  offense  "  at  these  last 
words,  regarding  them  as  "extremely  rude  and 
abusive,"  and  as  "equivalent  to  telling  him  to  his 
face  that  the  colonies  could  expect  neither  favor 
nor  justice  during  his  administration."  "I  find," 
adds  Franklin,  with  placid  satisfaction  in  the  skill 
with  which  he  had  shot  his  bolt,  "I  find  he  did 
not  mistake  me." 

So  Franklin  retained  the  gratification  which 
lies  in  having  administered  a  stinging  and  appre- 
ciated retort  ;  a  somewhat  empty  and  entirely 
personal  gratification,  it  must  be  admitted.  Hills- 
borough kept  the  substance  of  victory,  inasmuch 
as  he  persisted  in  refusing  to  recognize  Frank- 
lin as  the  agent  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay.  Yet 
in  this  he  did  not  annihilate,  indeed  very  slightly 
curtailed,  Franklin's  usefulness.  It  merely  signi- 
fied that  Franklin  ceased  to  be  an  official  conduit 
for  petitions  and  like  communications.  His  weight 
and  influence,  based  upon  his  knowledge  and  pres- 
tige, remained  unimpugned.  In  a  word,  it  was 
of  little  consequence  that  the  lord  secretary  would 
not  acknowledge  him  as  the  representative  of  one 
province,  so  long  as  all  England  practically  treated 
him  as  the  representative  of  all  America. 

From  this  time  forth,  of  course,  there  was  war- 
fare between  the  secretary  and  the  unacknowledged 
agent.     Franklin  began  to  entertain  a  "very  mean 


158  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

opinion"  of  Hillsborough's  "abilities  and  fitness 
for  his  station.  His  character  is  conceit,  wrong- 
headedness,  obstinacy,  and  passion.  Those  who 
speak  most  favorably  of  him  allow  all  this;  they 
only  add  that  he  is  an  honest  man  and  means  well. 
If  that  be  true,  as  perhaps  it  may,  I  only  wish 
him  a  better  place,  where  only  honesty  and  well- 
meaning  are  required,  and  where  his  other  quali- 
ties can  do  no  harm.  ...  I  hope,  however,  that 
our  affairs  will  not  much  longer  be  perplexed  and 
embarrassed  by  his  perverse  and  senseless  man- 
agement." But  for  the  present  Franklin  was  of 
opinion  that  it  would  be  well  "to  leave  this  omnis- 
cient, infallible  minister  to  his  own  devices,  and 
be  no  longer  at  the  expense  of  sending  any  agent, 
whom  he  can  displace  by  a  repeal  of  the  appoint- 
ing act." 

Hillsborough's  theory  was  adopted  by  the  board 
of  trade,  and  Franklin  therefore  remained  practi- 
cally stripped  of  the  important  agency  for  Massa- 
chusetts. He  anticipated  that  this  course  would 
soon  put  an  end  to  all  the  colonial  agencies;  but 
he  said  that  the  injury  would  be  quite  as  great 
to  the  English  government  as  to  the  colonies,  for 
the  agents  had  often  saved  the  cabinet  from  intro- 
ducing, through  misinformation,  "mistaken  mea- 
sures," which  it  would  afterward  have  found  to 
be  "very  inconvenient."  He  expressed  his  own 
opinion  that  when  the  colonies  "came  to  be  con- 
sidered in  the  light  of  distinct  states ,  as  I  conceive 
they   really   are,    possibly   their   agents    may    be 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  159 

treated  with  more  respect  and  considered  more  as 
public  ministers."  But  this  was  a  day-dream ;  the 
current  was  setting  in  quite  the  opposite  direction. 

In  point  of  fact,  Massachusetts  seems  to  have 
taken  no  detriment  from  this  foolish  and  captious 
bit  of  chicanery.  All  the  papers  and  arguments 
which  she  had  occasion  to  have  presented  always 
found  their  way  to  their  destination  as  well  as 
they  would  have  done  if  Franklin  had  been  ac- 
knowledged as  the  quasi  public  minister,  which  he 
conceived  to  be  his  proper  character. 

Franklin   perfectly   appreciated   that  Hillsbor- 
ough retained  his  position  by  precarious  tenure. 
He  shrewdly  suspected  that  if  the  war  with  Spain, 
which  then  seemed  imminent,  were  to  break  out, 
Hillsborough  would  at  once  be  removed.     For  in 
that  case  it  would  be  the  policy  of  the  government 
to  conciliate  the  colonies,  at  any  cost,  for  the  time 
being.     This  crisis  passed  by,  fortunately  for  the 
secretary    and    unfortunately    for    the   provinces. 
Yet  still  the  inefficient  and  ill-friended  minister 
remained  very  infirm  in  his  seat.     An  excuse  only 
was  needed  to  displace  him,  and  by  a  singular  and 
unexpected  chance  Franklin  furnished  that  excuse. 
It  was  the  humble  and  discredited  colonial  agent 
who  unwittingly  but  not  unwillingly  gave  the  jar 
which  toppled  the  great  earl  into  retirement.     His 
fall  when  it  came  gave  general  satisfaction.     His 
unfitness  for  his  position  had  become  too  obvious 
to  be  denied;    he  had  given  offense  in  quarters 
where  he  should  have  made  friends;  he  had  irri« 


160  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

tated  the  king  and  provoked  the  cabinet.  Frank- 
lin, with  his  observant  sagacity,  quickly  divined 
that  George  III.  was  "tired"  of  Hillsborough  and 
"of  his  administration,  which  had  weakened  the 
affection  and  respect  of  the  colonies  for  a  royal 
government;"  and  accordingly  he  "used  proper 
means  from  time  to  time  that  his  majesty  should 
have  due  information  and  convincing  proofs  "  of 
this  effect  of  his  lordship's  colonial  policy. 

It  was,  however,  upon  a  comparatively  trifling 
matter  that  Hillsborough  finally  lost  his  place.  It 
has  been  already  mentioned  that  many  years  be- 
fore this  time  Franklin  had  urged  the  establish- 
ment of  one  or  two  frontier,  or  "barrier,"  pro- 
vinces in  the  interior.  He  had  never  abandoned 
this  scheme,  and  of  late  had  been  pushing  it  with 
some  prospect  of  success;  for  among  other  encour- 
aging features  he  astutely  induced  three  privy 
councilors  to  become  financially  interested  in  the 
project.  The  original  purpose  of  the  petitioners 
had  been  to  ask  for  only  2,500,000  acres  of  land; 
but  Hillsborough  bade  them  ask  for  "enough  to 
make  a  province."  This  advice  was  grossly  dis- 
ingenuous ;  for  Hillsborough  himself  afterward 
admitted  that  from  the  beginning  he  had  intended 
to  defeat  the  application,  and  had  put  the  memo- 
rialists "  upon  asking  so  much  with  that  very  view, 
supposing  it  too  much  to  be  granted."  But  they, 
not  suspecting,  fell  into  the  trap  and  increased 
their  demand  to  23,000,000  acres,  certainly  a 
sufficient  quantity  to  call  for  serious  consideration. 


SECOND  MISSION  TO   ENGLAND  161 

When  the  petition  came  before  the  board  of  trade, 
Lord  Hillsborough,  who  was  president  of  the 
board,  took  upon  himself  the  task  of  rendering 
a  report.  To  the  surprise  of  the  petitioners,  who 
had  reason  to  suppose  him  well  inclined,  he  re- 
plied adversely.  The  region  was  so  far  away,  he 
said,  that  it  would  not  "lie  within  the  reach  of 
the  trade  and  commerce  of  this  kingdom; "  so  far, 
also,  as  not  to  admit  of  "the  exercise  of  that 
authority  and  jurisdiction  .  .  .  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  the  colonies  in  due  subordination 
to  and  dependence  upon  the  mother  country." 
The  territory  appeared,  "upon  the  fullest  evi- 
dence," to  be  "utterly  inaccessible  to  shipping," 
and  therefore  the  inhabitants  would  "probably  be 
led  to  manufacture  for  themselves,  ...  a  con- 
sequence ...  to  be  carefully  guarded  against." 
Also  part  belonged  to  the  Indians,  who  ought  not 
to  be  disturbed,  and  settlements  therein  would 
of  course  lead  to  Indian  wars  and  to  "fighting  for 
every  inch  of  the  ground."  Further,  the  occupa- 
tion of  this  tract  "must  draw  and  carry  out  a  great 
number  of  people  from  Great  Britain,"  who  would 
soon  become  "a  kind  of  separate  and  independent 
people,  .  .  .  and  set  up  for  themselves,"  meeting 
their  own  wants  and  taking  no  "supplies  from  the 
mother  country  nor  from  the  provinces  "  along  the 
seaboard.  At  so  great  a  distance  from  "the  seat 
of  government,  courts,  magistrates,  etc.,"  the  ter- 
ritory would  "become  a  receptacle  and  kind  of 
asylum  for  offenders,"  full   of  crime   itself,  and 


162  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

encouraging  crime  elsewhere.  This  disorderly 
population  would  soon  "become  formidable  enough 
to  oppose  his  majesty's  authority,  disturb  govern- 
ment, and  even  give  law  to  the  other  or  first-settled 
part  of  the  country,  and  thus  throw  everything 
into  confusion."  Such  arguments  were  as  feeble 
as  they  were  bodeful.  The  only  point  which  his 
lordship  really  scored  was  in  reply  to  Franklin's 
theory  of  the  protection  against  the  Indians  which 
these  colonies  would  afford  to  those  on  the  sea- 
board. Hillsborough  well  said  that  the  new 
settlements  themselves  would  stand  most  in  need 
of  protection.  It  was  only  advancing,  not  elimi- 
nating, a  hostile  frontier. 

Evidently  it  required  no  very  able  reasoning, 
coming  from  the  president  of  the  board,  to  per- 
suade his  subordinates;  and  this  foolish  report 
was  readily  adopted.  But  Franklin  was  not  so 
easily  beaten;  the  privy  council  furnished  one 
more  stage  at  which  he  could  still  make  a  fight. 
He  drew  up  a  reply  to  Lord  Hillsborough's  paper 
and  submitted  it  to  that  body.  It  was  a  long  and 
very  carefully  prepared  document ;  it  dealt  in  facts 
historical  and  statistical,  in  which  the  report  was 
utterly  deficient;  it  furnished  evidence  and  illus- 
tration ;  in  arguing  upon  probabilities  it  went  far 
toward  demolishing  the  theories  advanced  by  the 
president  of  the  board.  The  two  briefs  were  laid 
before  a  tribunal  in  which  three  men  sat  who 
certainly  ought  not  to  have  been  sitting  in  this 
cause,    since   Franklin's    interest   was    also  their 


SECOND  MISSION   TO   ENGLAND  163 

own ;  but  probably  this  did  not  more  than  coun- 
terbalance the  prestige  of  official  position  in  the 
opposite  scale.  Certainly  Franklin  had  followed 
his  invariable  custom  of  furnishing  his  friends 
with  ample  material  to  justify  them  in  befriending 
him.  In  this  respect  he  always  gallantly  stood 
by  his  own  side.  The  allies  whom  at  any  time  he 
sought  he  always  abundantly  supplied  with  plain 
facts  and  sound  arguments,  in  which  weapons  he 
always  placed  his  chief  trust.  So  at  present,  what- 
ever was  the  motive  which  induced  privy  coun- 
cilors to  open  their  ears  to  what  Franklin  had  to 
say,  after  they  had  heard  him  they  could  not  easily 
decide  against  him.  Nor  had  those  of  them  who 
were  personally  disinterested  any  great  induce- 
ment to  do  so,  since,  though  some  of  them  may 
have  disliked  him,  none  of  them  had  any  great 
liking  for  his  noble  opponent.  So  they  set  aside 
the  report  of  the  board  of  trade.1 

Upon  this  Lord  Hillsborough  fell  into  a  hot 
rage,  and  sent  in  his  resignation.  It  was  gen- 
erally understood  that  he  had  no  notion  that  it 
would  be  accepted,  or  that  he  would  be  allowed  to 
leave  upon  such  a  grievance.  He  fancied  that  he 
was  establishing  a  dilemma  which  would  impale 
Franklin.  But  he  was  in  error ;  he  himself  was 
impaled.  No  one  expostulated  with  him ;  he  was 
left  to  exercise  "the  Christian  virtue  of  resigna- 
tion "  without  hindrance.     Franklin  said  that  the 

1  A  very  interesting  statement  of  these  proceedings  may  be 
found  in  Franklin's  Works,  x.  346. 


164  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

anticipation  of  precisely  this  result,  so  far  from 
being  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  his  own  success, 
had  been  an  additional  incitement  to  the  course 
taken  by  the  council. 

So  the  earl,  the  enemy  of  America,  went  out; 
and  the  colonial  agent  had  shown  him  the  door, 
with  all  England  looking  on.  It  was  a  mortifica- 
tion which  Hillsborough  could  never  forgive,  and 
upon  four  occasions,  when  Franklin  made  the 
conventional  call  to  pay  his  respects,  he  did  not 
find  his  lordship  at  home.  At  his  fifth  call  he 
received  from  a  lackey  a  very  plain  intimation 
that  there  was  no  chance  that  he  ever  would  find 
the  ex-secretary  at  home,  and  thereafter  he  de- 
sisted from  the  forms  of  civility.  "I  have  never 
since,"  he  said,  "been  nigh  him,  and  we  have 
only  abused  one  another  at  a  distance."  Franklin 
had  fully  balanced  one  account  at  least. 

So  far  as  the  special  matter  in  hand  was  con- 
cerned, the  worsting  of  Hillsborough,  though  a 
gratification,  did  not  result  in  the  bettering  of 
Franklin  and  his  co-petitioners.  April  6,  1773, 
he  wrote:  "The  affair  of  the  grant  goes  on  but 
slowly.  I  do  not  yet  clearly  see  land.  I  begin 
to  be  a  little  of  the  sailor's  mind,  when  they  were 
landing  a  cable  out  of  a  store  into  a  ship,  and  one 
of  'em  said:  '  'T  is  a  long  heavy  cable,  I  wish  we 
could  see  the  end  of  it. '  '  Damn  me, '  says  an- 
other, '  if  I  believe  it  has  any  end ;  somebody  has 
cut  it  off.'  "  A  cable  twisted  of  British  red  tape 
was  indeed  a  coil  without  an  end.     In  this  case, 


UN'"f?£rv 


Sa 


UlOH 


NIAl 


SECOND  MISSION   TO   ENGLAND  165 

before  the  patent  was  granted,  Franklin  had  be- 
come so  unpopular,  and  the  Revolution  so  immi- 
nent, that  the  matter  was  dropped  by  a  sort  of 
universal  consent. 

Franklin  rejoiced  in  this  departure  of  Hills- 
borough as  a  good  riddance  of  a  man  whom  he 
thought  to  be  as  "double  and  deceitful"  as  any 
one  he  had  ever  met.  It  is  possible  that,  as  he 
had  been  instrumental  in  creating  the  vacancy,  he 
may  also  have  assisted  in  some  small  degree  in 
disposing  of  the  succession.  One  day  he  was 
complaining  of  Hillsborough  to  a  "friend  at 
court,"  when  the  friend  replied  that  Hillsborough 
was  wont  to  represent  the  Americans  "as  an  un- 
quiet people,  not  easily  satisfied  with  any  minis- 
try; that,  however,  it  was  thought  too  much  occa- 
sion had  been  given  them  to  dislike  the  present;  " 
and  the  question  was  asked  whether,  in  case  of 
Hillsborough's  removal,  Franklin  "could  name 
another  likely  to  be  more  acceptable  "  to  his  coun- 
trymen. He  at  once  suggested  Lord  Dartmouth. 
This  was  the  appointment  which  was  now  made, 
in  August,  1772,  and  the  news  of  which  gave 
much  satisfaction  to  all  the  "friends  of  America." 
For  Dartmouth  was  of  kindly  disposition,  and 
when  previously  president  of  the  board  of  trade 
had  shown  a  liberal  temper  in  provincial  affairs. 

The  relationship  between  Franklin  and  Lord 
Dartmouth  opened  auspiciously.  Franklin  waited 
upon  him  at  his  first  levee,  at  the  close  of  Octo- 
ber, 1772,   and  was  received  "very  obligingly." 


166  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

Further  Franklin  was  at  once  recognized  as  agent 
for  Massachusetts,  with  no  renewal  of  the  caviling 
as  to  the  manner  of  his  appointment,  from  which 
he  hopefully  augured  that  "business  was  getting 
into  a  better  train."  A  month  later  he  reported 
himself  as  being  still  "upon  very  good  terms" 
with  the  new  minister,  who,  he  had  "reason  to 
think,  meant  well  by  the  colonies."  So  Dart- 
mouth did,  undoubtedly,  and  if  the  best  of  in- 
tentions and  of  feelings  could  have  availed  much 
at  this  stage  of  affairs,  Franklin  and  his  lordship 
might  have  postponed  the  Eevolution  until  the 
next  generation.  But  it  was  too  late  to  counter- 
act the  divergent  movements  of  the  two  nations, 
and  no  better  proof  could  be  desired  of  the  degree 
to  which  this  divergence  had  arrived  than  the  fact 
itself  that  the  moderate  Franklin  and  the  well- 
disposed  Dartmouth  could  not  come  into  accord. 
Each  people  had  declared  its  political  faith,  its 
fundamental  theory;  and  the  faith  and  theory  of 
the  one  were  fully  and  fairly  adverse  to  those  of 
the  other ;  and  the  instant  that  the  talk  went  deep 
enough,  this  irreconcilable  difference  was  sure  to 
be  exposed. 

During  the  winter  of  1772-73,  following  Lord 
Dartmouth's  appointment,  a  lively  dispute  arose  in 
Massachusetts  between  the  Assembly  and  Governor 
Hutchinson.  It  was  the  old  question,  whether  the 
English  Parliament  had  control  in  matters  of  co- 
lonial taxation.  The  governor  made  speeches  and 
said  Yea,  while  the  Assembly  passed  resolutions 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  167 

and  said  Nay.  The  early  ships,  arriving  in  Eng- 
land in  the  spring  of  1773,  brought  news  of  this 
dispute,  which  seemed  to  have  been  indeed  a  hot 
one.  The  English  ministry  were  not  pleased ;  they 
wanted  to  keep  their  relationship  with  the  colonies 
tranquil  for  a  while,  because  there  was  a  renewal 
of  the  danger  of  a  war  with  Spain.  Therefore 
they  were  vexed  at  the  over-zeal  of  Hutchinson  ; 
and  Lord  Dartmouth  frankly  said  so.  Franklin 
called  one  day  upon  the  secretary  and  found  him 
much  perplexed  at  the  "difficulties"  into  which 
the  governor  had  brought  the  ministers  by  his  "  im- 
prudence." Parliament,  his  lordship  said,  could 
not  "suffer  such  a  declaration  of  the  colonial  As- 
sembly, asserting  its  independence,  to  pass  unno- 
ticed." Franklin  thought  otherwise :  "It  is  words 
only,"  he  said;  "acts  of  Parliament  are  still  sub- 
mitted to  there;  "  and  so  long  as  such  was  the  case 
"Parliament  would  do  well  to  turn  a  deaf  ear. 
.  .  .  Force  could  do  no  good."  Force,  it  was  re- 
plied, might  not  be  thought  of,  but  rather  an  act 
to  lay  the  colonies  "under  some  inconveniences, 
till  they  rescind  that  declaration."  Could  they 
by  no  possibility  be  persuaded  to  withdraw  it? 
Franklin  was  clearly  of  opinion  that  the  resolve 
could  only  be  withdrawn  after  the  withdrawal  of 
the  speech  which  it  answered,  "an  awkward  oper- 
ation, which  perhaps  the  governor  would  hardly 
be  directed  to  perform."  As  for  an  act  establish- 
ing "inconveniences,"  probably  it  would  only  put 
the  colonies,   "as  heretofore,  on  some   method  of 


168  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

incommoding  this  country  till  the  act  is  repealed ; 
and  so  we  shall  go  on  injuring  and  provoking 
each  other  instead  of  cultivating  that  good  will 
and  harmony  so  necessary  to  the  general  welfare." 
Divisions,  his  lordship  admitted,  "must  weaken 
the  whole;  for  we  are  yet  one  empire,  whatever 
may  be  the  opinions  of  the  Massachusetts  As- 
sembly." But  how  to  escape  divisions  was  the 
conundrum.  Could  his  lordship  withhold  from 
Parliament  the  irritating  documents,  though  in 
fact  they  were  already  notorious,  and  "hazard  the 
being  called  to  account  in  some  future  session  of 
Parliament  for  keeping  back  the  communication 
of  dispatches  of  such  importance?  "  He  appealed 
to  Franklin  for  advice;  but  Franklin  would 
undertake  to  give  none,  save  that,  in  his  opinion, 
if  the  dispatches  should  be  laid  before  Parlia- 
ment, it  would  be  prudent  to  order  them  to  lie  on 
the  table.  For,  he  said,  "were  I  as  much  an 
Englishman  as  I  am  an  American,  and  ever  so 
desirous  of  establishing  the  authority  of  Parlia- 
ment, I  protest  to  your  lordship  I  cannot  conceive 
of  a  single  step  the  Parliament  can  take  to  in- 
crease it  that  will  not  tend  to  diminish  it,  and 
after  abundance  of  mischief  they  must  finally  lose 
it."  So  whenever  the  crucial  test  was  applied 
these  two  men  found  themselves  utterly  at  vari- 
ance, and  the  hopelessness  of  a  peaceful  conclusion 
would  have  been  obvious,  had  not  each  shunned 
a  prospect  so  painful. 

It  must  be  confessed  that,  if  Lord  Dartmouth 


I  ■   I 

V         QF        / 

SECOND  MISSION  TO   ENGLAND  169 

was  so  pathetically  desirous  to  undo  an  irrevo- 
cable past,  Dr.  Franklin  was  no  less  anxious  for 
the  performance  of  a  like  miracle.  Both  the 
statesman  and  the  philosopher  would  have  appre- 
ciated better  the  uselessness  of  their  efforts,  had 
their  feelings  been  less  deeply  engaged.  Frank- 
lin's vain  wish  at  this  time  was  to  move  the 
peoples  of  England  and  America  back  to  the  days 
before  the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act.  "I  have 
constantly  given  it  as  my  opinion,"  he  wrote,  early 
in  1771,  "that,  if  the  colonies  were  restored  to  the 
state  they  were  in  before  the  Stamp  Act,  they 
would  be  satisfied  and  contend  no  farther."  Two 
and  a  half  years  later,  following  the  fable  of  the 
sibylline  books,  he  expressed  the  more  extreme 
opinion  that  "the  letter  of  the  two  houses  of  the 
29th  of  June,  proposing  as  a  satisfactory  measure 
the  restoring  things  to  the  state  in  which  they 
were  at  the  conclusion  of  the  late  war,  is  a  fair 
and  generous  offer  on  our  part,  .  .  .  and  more 
than  Britain  has  a  right  to  expect  from  us.  .  .  . 
If  she  has  any  wisdom  left,  she  will  embrace  it, 
and  agree  with  us  immediately." 

But  the  insuperable  trouble  was  that,  at  the 
close  of  the  last  war  and  before  the  passage  of  the 
Stamp  Act,  the  controversy  upon  the  question  of 
right  had  been  unborn.  Now,  having  come  into 
being,  this  controversy  could  not  be  laid  at  rest  by 
a  mere  waiver;  it  was  of  that  nature  that  its 
resurrection  would  be  sure  and  speedy.  Anything 
else  would  have  been,  of  course,  the  practical  vie- 


170  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

tory  of  the  colonies  and  defeat  of  England ;  and 
the  English  could  not  admit  that  things  had 
reached  this  pass  as  yet.  If  England  should  not 
renounce  her  right,  the  colonies  would  always 
remain  uneasy  beneath  the  unretracted  assertion 
of  it;  if  she  should  never  again  seek  to  exercise 
it,  she  would  be  really  yielding.  It  was  idle  to 
talk  of  such  a  state  of  affairs;  it  could  not  be 
brought  about,  even  if  it  were  conceivable  that 
each  side  could  be  induced  to  repeal  all  its  acts 
and  resolves  touching  the  subject,  —  and  even  this 
preliminary  step  was  what  no  reasonable  man 
could  anticipate.  In  a  word,  when  Franklin 
longed  for  the  restoration  of  the  status  quo  ante 
the  Stamp  Act,  he  longed  for  a  chimera.  A  ques- 
tion had  been  raised,  which  was  of  that  kind  that 
it  could  not  be  compromised,  or  set  aside,  or 
ignored,  or  forgotten;  it  must  be  settled  by  the 
recession  or  by  the  defeat  of  one  contestant  or  the 
other.  Nothing  better  than  a  brief  period  of  rest- 
less and  suspicious  truce  could  be  gained  by  an 
effort  to  restore  the  situation  of  a  previous  date, 
even  were  such  restoration  possible,  since  the  in- 
tervening period  and  the  memory  of  its  undeter- 
mined dispute  concerning  a  principle  could  not  be 
annihilated. 

Still  Franklin  persistently  refused  to  despair, 
so  long  as  peace  was  still  unbroken.  Until  blood 
had  been  shed,  war  might  be  avoided.  This  was 
no  lack  of  foresight;  occasionally  an  expression 
escaped   him   which  showed  that  he  fully  under- 


SECOND  MISSION  TO   ENGLAND  171 

stood  the  drift  of  affairs  and  saw  the  final  out- 
come of  the  opposing  doctrines.  In  1769  he  said 
that  matters  were  daily  tending  more  and  more 
"to  a  breach  and  final  separation."  In  1771  he 
thought  that  any  one  might  "clearly  see  in  the 
system  of  customs  to  be  exacted  in  America  by 
act  of  Parliament,  the  seeds  sown  of  a  total  dis- 
union of  the  countries,  though  as  yet  that  event 
may  be  at  a  considerable  distance."  By  1774  he 
said,  in  an  article  written  for  an  English  news- 
paper, that  certain  "angry  writers"  on  the  Eng- 
lish side  were  using  "their  utmost  efforts  to 
persuade  us  that  this  war  with  the  colonies  (for  a 
war  it  will  be)  is  a  national  cause,  when  in  fact  it 
is  a  ministerial  one."  But  he  very  rarely  spoke 
thus.  It  was  at  once  his  official  duty  as  well  as 
his  strong  personal  wish  to  find  some  other  exit 
from  the  public  embarrassments  than  by  this  dire- 
ful conclusion.  Therefore,  so  long  as  war  did 
not  exist  he  refused  to  admit  that  it  was  inevi- 
table, and  he  spared  no  effort  to  prevent  it,  leaving 
to  fervid  orators  to  declare  the  contrary  and  to 
welcome  it;  nor  would  he  ever  allow  himself  to 
be  discouraged  by  any  measure  of  apparent  hope- 
lessness. 

His  great  dread  was  that  the  colonies  might  go 
so  fast  and  so  far  as  to  make  matters  incurable 
before  thinking  people  were  ready  to  recognize 
such  a  crisis  as  unavoidable.  He  seldom  wrote 
home  without  some  words  counseling  moderation. 
He  wanted  to  see  "much  patience  and  the  utmost 


172  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

discretion  in  our  general  conduct."  It  must  not, 
however,  be  supposed  that  such  language  was 
used  to  cover  any  lukewarmness,  or  irresolution, 
or  tendency  towards  halfway  or  temporizing  mea- 
sures. On  the  contrary,  he  was  wholly  and  con- 
sistently the  opposite  of  all  this.  His  moderation 
was  not  at  all  akin  to  the  moderation  of  Dickinson 
and  such  men,  who  were  always  wanting  to  add 
another  to  the  long  procession  of  petitions  and 
protests.  He  only  desired  that  the  leading  should 
be  done  by  the  wise  men,  so  as  not  to  have  a 
Braddock's  defeat  in  so  grave  and  perilous  an 
undertaking.  He  feared  that  a  mob  might  make 
an  irrevocable  blunder,  and  the  mischievous  rabble 
create  a  condition  of  affairs  which  the  real  states- 
men of  the  provinces  could  neither  mend  nor  ex- 
cuse. Certainly  his  anxiety  was  not  without  cause. 
He  warned  his  country  people  that  there  was  no- 
thing which  their  enemies  in  England  more  wished 
than  that,  by  insurrections,  they  would  give  a  good 
pretense  for  establishing  a  large  military  force  in 
the  colonies.  As  between  friends,  he  said,  every 
affront  is  not  worth  a  duel,  so  "between  the  gov- 
erned and  governing  every  mistake  in  government, 
every  encroachment  on  right,  is  not  worth  a 
rebellion."  So  he  thought  that  an  "immediate 
rupture"  was  not  in  accordance  with  "general 
prudence,"  for  by  "a  premature  struggle,"  the 
colonies  might  "be  crippled  and  kept  down  an- 
other age."  No  one,  however,  was  more  resolute 
than   he   that   the    mistakes    and   encroachments 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  173 

which  had  occurred  should  not  be  repeated.  An 
assurance  against  such  repetition,  he  tried  to 
think,  might  be  effected  within  a  reasonably  short 
time  by  two  peaceful  influences.  One  of  these 
was  a  cessation  of  all  colonial  purchases  of  English 
commodities;  the  other  was  the  rapid  increase  of 
the  visible  strength  and  resources  of  the  colonies. 
He  was  urgent  and  frequent  in  reiterating  his 
opinion  of  the  great  efficacy  of  the  non-purchasing 
agreements.  It  is  a  little  odd  to  find  him  actually 
declaring  that,  if  the  people  would  honestly  per- 
sist in  these  engagements,  he  "should  almost 
wish"  the  obnoxious  act  " never  to  be  repealed;" 
for,  besides  industry  and  frugality,  such  a  condi- 
tion of  things  would  promote  a  variety  of  domestic 
manufactures.  In  a  word,  this  British  oppression 
would  bring  about  all  those  advantages  for  the 
infant  nation,  which,  through  the  medium  of  the 
protective  tariff,  have  since  been  purchased  by 
Americans  at  a  vast  expense.  Moreover,  the 
money  which  used  to  be  sent  to  England  in  pay- 
ment for  superfluous  luxuries  would  be  kept  at 
home,  to  be  there  laid  out  in  domestic  improve- 
ments. Gold  and  silver,  the  scarcity  of  which 
caused  great  inconvenience  in  the  colonies,  would 
remain  in  the  country.  All  these  advantages 
would  accrue  from  a  course  which  at  the  same 
time  must  give  rise  in  England  itself  to  a  pressure 
so  extreme  that  Parliament  could  not  long  resist 
it.  "The  trading  part  of  the  nation,  with  the 
n manufacturers,  are  become  sensible  how  necessary 


174  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

it  is  for  their  welfare  to  be  on  good  terms  with  us. 
The  petitioners  of  Middlesex  and  of  London  have 
numbered  among  their  grievances  the  unconstitu- 
tional taxes  on  America ;  and  similar  petitions  are 
expected  from  all  quarters.  So  that  I  think  we 
need  only  be  quiet,  and  persevere  in  our  schemes 
of  frugality  and  industry,  and  the  rest  will  do 
itself."  But  it  was  obvious  that,  if  the  measures 
were  not  now  persisted  in  until  they  should  have 
had  their  full  effect,  a  like  policy  could  never 
again  be  resorted  to;  and  Franklin  gave  it  as  his 
belief  that,  "if  we  do  persist  another  year,  we 
shall  never  afterwards  have  occasion  to  use  "  the 
remedy. 

To  him  it  seemed  incredible  that  the  people  of 
America  should  not  loyally  persist  in  a  policy  of 
non-importation  of  English  goods.  Not  only  was 
the  doing  without  these  a  benefit  to  domestic  in- 
dustries, but  buying  them  was  a  direct  aid  and 
maintenance  to  the  oppressor.  He  said :  "  If  our 
people  will,  by  consuming  such  commodities,  pur- 
chase and  pay  for  their  fetters,  who  that  sees  them 
so  shackled  will  think  they  deserve  either  redress 
or  pity?  Methinks  that  in  drinking  tea,  a  true 
American,  reflecting  that  by  every  cup  he  contrib- 
uted to  the  salaries,  pensions,  and  rewards  of  the 
enemies  and  persecutors  of  his  country,  would  be 
half  choked  at  the  thought,  and  find  no  quantity 
of  sugar  sufficient  to  make  the  nauseous  draught 
go  down."  1 

1  See  also  letter  to  Marshall,  April  22,  1771,  Works,  x.  315. 


SECOND  MISSION  TO  ENGLAND  175 

In  this  connection  he  was  much  "diverted  "  and 
gratified  by  the  results  of  the  Stamp  Act,  and 
especially  of  the  act  laying  the  duty  on  tea.  The 
gross  proceeds  of  the  former  statute,  gathered  in 
the  West  Indies  and  Canada,  since  substantial^ 
nothing  was  got  in  the  other  provinces,  was 
£1500;  while  the  expenditure  had  amounted  to 
.£12,000!  The  working  of  the  Customs  Act  had 
been  far  worse.  According  to  his  statement,  the 
unfortunate  East  India  Company,  in  January, 
1773,  had  at  least  £2,000,000,  some  said  £4,000,- 
000,  worth  of  goods  which  had  accumulated  in 
their  warehouses  since  the  enactment,  of  which  the 
chief  part  would,  in  the  natural  condition  of  busi- 
ness, have  been  absorbed  by  the  colonies.  The 
consequence  was  that  the  company's  shares  had 
fallen  enormously  in  price,  that  it  was  hard 
pressed  to  make  its  payments,  that  its  credit  was 
so  seriously  impaired  that  the  Bank  of  England 
would  not  help  it,  and  that  its  dividends  had  been 
reduced  below  the  point  at  and  above  which  it  was 
obliged  to  pay,  and  heretofore  regularly  had  paid, 
£400,000  annually  to  the  government.  Many 
investors  were  painfully  straitened,  and  not  a  few 
bankruptcies  ensued.  Besides  the  loss  of  this  an- 
nual stipend  the  treasury  was  further  the  sufferer 
by  the  great  expense  which  had  been  incurred  in 
endeavoring  to  guard  the  American  coast  against 
smugglers;  with  the  added  vexation  that  these 
costly  attempts  had,  after  all,  been  fruitless. 
Fifteen  hundred  miles  of  shore  line,  occupied  by 


176  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

people  unanimously  hostile  to  the  king's  revenue 
officers,  presented  a  task  much  beyond  the  capa- 
bilities of  the  vessels  which  England  could  send 
thither.  So  the  Dutch,  the  Danes,  the  Swedes, 
and  the  French  soon  established  a  thriving  con- 
traband trade;  the  American  housewives  were 
hardly  interrupted  in  dispensing  the  favorite 
beverage;  the  English  merchant's  heavy  loss 
became  the  foreign  smuggler's  aggravating  gain; 
and  the  costly  sacrifice  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany fell  short  of  effecting  the  punishment  of  the 
wicked  Americans.  Franklin  could  not  "help 
smiling  at  these  blunders."  Englishmen  would 
soon  resent  them,  he  said,  would  turn  out  the 
ministry  that  was  responsible  for  them,  and  put  in 
a  very  different  set  of  men,  who  would  undo  the 
mischief.  "If  we  continue  firm  and  united,  and 
resolutely  persist  in  the  non-consumption  agree- 
ment, this  adverse  ministry  cannot  possibly  stand 
another  year.  And  surely  the  great  body  of  our 
people,  the  farmers  and  artificers,  will  not  find  it 
hard  to  keep  an  agreement  by  which  they  both 
save  and  gain."  Thus  he  continued  to  write  so 
late  as  February,  1775,  believing  to  the  last  in 
the  efficacy  of  this  policy. 


CHAPTER   VII 

SECOND   MISSION   TO   ENGLAND,    III 

THE   HUTCHINSON   LETTERS:     THE   PRIVY   COUNCIL 

SCENE:   RETURN   HOME 

The  famous  episode  of  the  Hutchinson  letters, 
occurring  near  the  close  of  Franklin's  stay  in 
England,  must  be  narrated  with  a  brevity  more  in 
accord  with  its  real  historical  value  than  with  its 
interest  as  a  dramatic  story.  In  conversation  one 
day  with  an  English  gentleman,  Franklin  spoke 
with  resentment  of  the  sending  troops  to  Boston 
and  the  other  severe  measures  of  the  government. 
The  other  in  reply  engaged  to  convince  him  that 
these  steps  were  taken  upon  the  suggestion  and  ad- 
vice of  Americans.  A  few  days  later  he  made  good 
his  promise  by  producing  certain  letters,  signed 
by  Hutchinson,  Oliver,  and  others,  all  natives  of 
and  residents  and  office-holders  in  America.  The 
addresses  had  been  cut  from  the  letters;  but  in 
other  respects  they  were  unmutilated,  and  they 
were  the  original  documents.  They  contained 
just  such  matter  as  the  gentleman  had  described, 
—  opinions  and  advice  which  would  have  com- 
mended  themselves  highly  to  a  royalist,  but  which 
could  have  seemed  to  a  patriot  in  the  provinces 


178  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

only  the  most  dangerous  and  abominable  treason. 
Induced  by  obvious  motives,  Franklin  begged 
leave  to  send  these  letters  to  Massachusetts,  and 
finally  obtained  permission  to  do  so,  subject  to  the 
stipulation  that  they  should  not  be  printed  nor 
copied,  and  should  be  circulated  only  among  a 
few  leading  men.  His  purpose,  he  said,  lay  in 
his  belief  that  when  the  "principal  people"  in 
Boston  "saw  the  measures  they  complained  of 
took  their  rise  in  a  great  degree  from  the  repre- 
sentations and  recommendations  of  their  own 
countrymen,  their  resentment  against  Britain 
might  abate,  as  mine  has  done,  and  a  reconcilia- 
tion be  more  easily  obtained.' ' *  Franklin  accord- 
ingly sent  over  the  letters,  together  with  strict 
injunctions  in  pursuance  of  his  engagement  to  the 
giver  of  them:  "In  confidence  of  your  following 
inviolably  my  engagement,"  etc.,  he  wrote.  But 
this  solemn  instruction  was  not  complied  with  ; 

1  The  importance  of  establishing  the  fact  that  the  government's 
course  was  instigated  by  Hutchinson  is  liable  at  the  present  day 
to  be  underrated.  For  his  name  has  fallen  into  such  extreme  dis- 
repute in  America  that  to  have  been  guided  by  his  advice  seems 
only  an  additional  offense.  But  such  was  not  the  case  ;  Hutchin- 
son came  of  old  and  prominent  Massachusetts  stock ;  he  was  a 
descendant  of  Anne  Hutchinson,  of  polemic  fame,  and  when  ap- 
pointed to  office  he  appeared  a  man  of  good  standing  and  ability. 
The  English  government  had  a  perfect  right  to  rely  upon  the 
soundness  of  his  statements  and  opinions.  Thus  it  was  really  of 
great  moment  for  Franklin  to  be  able  to  convince  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  that  the  English  measures  were  in  strict  conformity 
with  Hutchinson's  suggestions.  It  was  an  excuse  for  the  English, 
as  it  also  was  the  condemnation  of  Hutchinson,  in  colonial  opinion 


THE  HUTCHINSON  LETTERS  179 

the  temptation  was  too  great  for  the  honor  of 
some  among  the  patriots,  who  resolved  that  the 
letters  should  be  made  public  despite  any  pledge 
to  the  contrary,  and  resorted  to  a  shallow  artifice 
for  achieving  their  end.  A  story  was  started  that 
authenticated  copies  of  the  same  papers  had  been 
received  from  England  by  somebody.  There  was 
a  prudent  abstention  from  any  inquiry  into  the 
truth  of  this  statement.  "I  know,"  said  Frank- 
lin, "that  could  not  be.  It  was  an  expedient  to 
disengage  the  House."  Dishonest  as  it  obviously 
was,  it  was  successful ;  members  accepted  it  as  a 
removal  of  the  seal  of  secrecy ;  and  the  documents 
having  thus  found  their  way  before  the  Assembly 
were  ordered  to  be  printed.  That  body,  greatly 
incensed,  immediately  voted  a  petition  to  the  king 
for  the  removal  of  the  governor  and  lieutenant- 
governor,  and  sent  it  over  to  Franklin  to  be 
presented. 

The  publication  of  these  letters  made  no  little 
stir.  The  writers  were  furious,  and  of  course 
brought  vehement  charges  of  bad  faith  and  dis- 
honorable behavior.  But  they  were  at  a  loss  to 
know  upon  whom  to  visit  their  wrath.  For  the 
person  to  whom  they  had  written  the  letters  was 
dead,  and  they  knew  no  one  else  who  had  been 
concerned  in  the  matter.  The  secret  of  the  chan- 
nel of  conveyance  had  been  rigidly  kept.  No  one 
had  the  slightest  idea  by  whom  the  letters  had 
been  transmitted  to  Massachusetts,  nor  by  whom 
they  had  been  received  there.     To  this  day  it  is 


180  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

not  known  by  whom  the  letters  were  given  to 
Franklin.  July  25,  1773,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Crush- 
ing, the  speaker  of  the  Assembly,  to  whom  he 
had  inclosed  the  letters:  "I  observe  that  you 
mention  that  no  person  besides  Dr.  Cooper  and 
one  member  of  the  committee  knew  they  came 
from  me.  I  did  not  accompany  them  with  any 
request  of  being  myself  concealed;  for,  believing 
what  I  did  to  be  in  the  way  of  my  duty  as  agent, 
though  I  had  no  doubt  of  its  giving  offense,  not 
only  to  the  parties  exposed  but  to  administration 
here,  I  was  regardless  of  the  consequences.  How- 
ever, since  the  letters  themselves  are  now  copied 
and  printed,  contrary  to  the  promise  I  made,  I  am 
glad  my  name  has  not  been  heard  on  the  occasion ; 
and,  as  I  do  not  see  how  it  could  be  of  any  use  to 
the  public,  I  now  wish  it  may  continue  unknown ; 
though  I  hardly  expect  it."  Unfortunately  it 
soon  became  of  such  use  to  two  individuals  in 
England  that  Franklin  himself  felt  obliged  to 
divulge  it;  otherwise  it  might  have  remained  for- 
ever a  mystery. 

Though  the  addresses  had  been  cut  from  the 
letters,  yet  they  had  previously  been  shown  to 
many  persons  in  England,  and  it  soon  became 
known  there  that  they  had  been  written  to  Mr. 
William  Whately,  now  dead,  but  who,  when  the 
letters  were  written,  was  a  member  of  Parliament 
and  private  secretary  to  George  Grenville,  who 
was  then  in  the  cabinet.  Amid  the  active  sur- 
mises as  to  the  next  link  in  the  chain  suspicion 


THE   HUTCHINSON  LETTERS  181 

naturally  attached  to  Thomas  Whately,  brother 
and  executor  of  the  dead  man,  and  in  possession 
of  his  papers.  This  gentleman  denied  that  he  had 
ever,  to  his  knowledge,  had  these  letters  in  his 
hands.  Suspicion  next  attached  to  Mr.  Temple, 
"our  friend,"  as  Franklin  described  him.  He 
had  had  access  to  the  letters  of  William  Whately 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  from  among  them  cer- 
tain letters  written  by  himself  and  his  brother;  he 
had  lived  in  America,  had  been  governor  of  New 
Hampshire,  and  later  in  letters  to  his  friends 
there  had  announced  the  coming  of  the  letters  be- 
fore they  had  actually  arrived.  The  expression 
of  suspicion  towards  Temple  found  its  way  into  a 
newspaper,  bolstered  with  an  intimation  that  the 
information  came  from  Thomas  Whately.  Tem- 
ple at  once  made  a  demand  upon  Whately  to 
exculpate  him.  This  of  course  Whately  could 
not  do,  since  he  had  not  inspected  the  letters 
taken  by  Temple,  and  so  could  not  say  of  his 
knowledge  that  these  were  not  among  them.  But 
instead  of  taking  this  perfectly  safe  ground,  he 
published  a  card  stating  that  Temple  had  had 
access  to  the  letters  of  the  deceased  for  a  special 
purpose,  and  that  Temple  had  solemnly  averred  to 
him,  Whately,  that  he  had  neither  removed  nor 
copied  any  letters  save  those  written  by  himself 
and  his  brother.  This  exoneration  was  far  from 
satisfying  Temple,  who  conceived  that  it  rather 
injured  than  improved  his  position.  Accordingly 
he  challenged  Whately  and    the   two   fought  in 


182  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

Hyde  Park  ring.  The  story  of  the  duel,  which 
was  mingled  of  comedy  and  tragedy,  is  vividly 
told  by  Mr.  Parton.  Whately  was  wounded 
twice,  and  at  his  request  the  fight  then  ceased. 
Temple  was  accused,  but  unfairly,  of  having 
thrust  at  him  when  he  was  down.  But  it  was 
no  conventional  duel,  or  result  of  temporary  hot 
blood.  The  contestants  were  profoundly  angry 
with  each  other,  and  were  bent  on  more  serious 
results  than  curable  wounds.  It  was  understood 
that  so  soon  as  Whately  should  be  well,  the  fight 
would  be  renewed.  Thus  matters  stood  when 
Franklin  came  up  to  London  from  a  visit  in  the 
country,  to  be  astonished  by  the  news  of  what 
had  occurred,  and  annoyed  at  the  prospect  of  what 
was  likely  to  occur.  At  once  he  inserted  this 
letter :  — 

To  the  Printer  of  the  "  Public  Advertiser  : " 

Sir,  —  Finding  that  two  gentlemen  have  been  unfor- 
tunately engaged  in  a  duel  about  a  transaction  and  its 
circumstances  of  which  both  of  them  are  totally  ignorant 
and  innocent,  I  think  it  incumbent  upon  me  to  declare 
(for  the  prevention  of  further  mischief,  as  far  as  such  a 
declaration  may  contribute  to  prevent  it)  that  I  alone 
am  the  person  who  obtained  and  transmitted  to  Boston 
the  letters  in  question.  Mr.  Whately  could  not  commu- 
nicate them,  because  they  were  never  in  his  possession ; 
and  for  the  same  reason  they  could  not  be  taken  from 
him  by  Mr.  Temple.  They  were  not  of  the  nature  of 
private  letters  between  friends.  They  were  written  by 
public  officers  to  persons  in  public  stations  on  public 


THE  HUTCHINSON  LETTERS  183 

affairs,  and  intended  to  procure  public  measures ;  they 
were  therefore  handed  to  other  public  persons,  who  might 
be  influenced  by  them  to  produce  those  measures.  Their 
tendency  was  to  incense  the  mother  country  against  her 
colonies,  and,  by  the  steps  recommended,  to  widen  the 
breach  which  they  effected.  The  chief  caution  expressed 
with  regard  to  privacy  was,  to  keep  their  contents  from 
the  colony  agents,  who,  the  writers  apprehended,  might 
return  them,  or  copies  of  them,  to  America.  That  ap- 
prehension was,  it  seems,  well  founded,  for  the  first  agent 
who  laid  his  hands  on  them  thought  it  his  duty  to  trans- 
mit them  to  his  constituents. 

B.  Franklin, 
Agent  for  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
Massachusetts  Bay. 
Craven  Street,  December  25,  1773. 

The  petition,  forwarded  by  the  House  of  Bepre- 
sentatives  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  after  they  had 
read  the  famous  letters,  recited  that  the  petitioners 
had  "very  lately  had  before  them  certain  papers ," 
and  it  was  upon  the  strength  of  the  contents  of 
these  papers  that  they  humbly  prayed  that  his  ma- 
jesty would  be  "  pleased  to  remove  from  their  posts 
in  this  government"  Governor  Hutchinson  and 
Lieutenant-Governor  Oliver.  Immediately  upon 
receipt  of  this  petition  Franklin  transmitted  it  to 
Lord  Dartmouth,  with  a  very  civil  and  concilia- 
tory note,  to  which  Lord  Dartmouth  replied  in  the 
same  spirit.  This  took  place  in  August,  1773; 
the  duel  followed  in  December,  and  in  the  interval 
Franklin  had    heard  nothing  from  the   petition. 


184  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

But  when  his  foregoing  letter  was  published  and 
conned  over  it  seemed  that  the  auspicious  moment 
for  the  ministry  was  now  at  hand,  and  that  it  had 
actually  been  furnished  to  them  by  the  astute 
Franklin  himself.  There  is  no  question  that  he 
had  acted  according  to  his  conscience,  and  it  seems 
now  to  be  generally  agreed  that  his  conscience  did 
not  mislead  him.  But  he  had  been  placed  in  a 
difficult  position,  and  it  was  easily  possible  to  give 
a  very  bad  coloring  to  his  conduct.  There  was  in 
this  business  an  opportunity  to  bring  into  dis- 
credit the  character  of  the  representative  man  of 
America,  the  man  foremost  of  Americans  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world,  the  man  most  formidable  to  the 
ministerial  party;  such  an  opportunity  was  not  to 
be  lost.1 

1  It  must  be  confessed  that  the  question  whether  Franklin 
should  have  sent  these  letters  to  be  seen  by  the  leading  men  of 
Massachusetts  involves  points  of  some  delicacy.  The  very  elab- 
orateness and  vehemence  of  the  exculpations  put  forth  by  Amer- 
ican writers  indicate  a  lurking  feeling  that  the  opposite  side  is  at 
least  plausible.  I  add  my  opinion  decidedly  upon  Franklin's  side, 
though  I  certainly  see  force  in  the  contrary  view.  Yet  before  one 
feels  fully  satisfied  he  would  wish  to  know  from  whom  these  let- 
ters came  to  Franklin's  hands,  the  information  then  given  him 
concerning  them,  and  the  authority  which  the  giver  might  be  sup- 
posed to  have  over  them  ;  in  a  word,  all  the  attendant  and  qual- 
ifying circumstances  and  conversation  upon  which  presumptions 
might  have  been  properly  founded  by  Franklin.  Upon  these 
essential  matters  there  is  absolutely  no  evidence.  Franklin  was 
bound  to  secrecy  concerning  them,  at  whatever  cost  to  himself. 
But  it  is  evident  that  Franklin  never  for  an  instant  entertained 
the  slightest  doubt  of  the  entire  propriety  of  his  action,  and  even 
in  his  own  cause  he  was  wont  to  be  a  fair-minded  judge.  One 
gets  a  glimpse  of  the  other  side  in  the  Diary  and  Letters  of  his 


THE  HUTCHINSON  LETTERS  185 

Franklin  had  anticipated  that  the  "  king  would 
have  considered  this  petition,  as  he  had  done  the 
preceding  one,  in  his  cabinet,  and  have  given  an 
answer  without  a  hearing."  But  on  the  afternoon 
of  Saturday,  January  8,  1774,  he  was  surprised  to 
receive  notice  of  a  hearing  upon  the  petition  be- 
fore the  Lords  of  the  Committee  for  Plantation 
Affairs,  at  the  Cockpit,  on  the  Tuesday  follow- 
ing, at  noon.  Late  in  the  afternoon  of  Monday 
he  got  notice  that  Mr.  Mauduit,  agent  for  Hutch- 
inson and  Oliver,  would  be  represented  at  the 
hearing  on  the  following  morning  by  counsel.  A 
less  sagacious  man  than  Franklin  would  have 
scented  trouble  in  the  air.  He  tried  to  find 
Arthur  Lee;  but  Lee  was  in  Bath.  He  then 
sought  advice  from  Mr.  Bollan,  a  barrister,  agent 
for  the  Council  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  who 
also  had  been  summoned.  There  was  no  time  to 
instruct  counsel,  and  Mr.  Bollan  advised  to  em- 
ploy none ;  he  had  found  "  lawyers  of  little  service 
in  colony  cases."  "Those  who  are  eminent  and 
hope  to  rise  in  their  profession  are  unwilling  to 
offend  the  court,  whose  disposition  on  this  occasion 
was  well  known."  The  next  day  at  the  hearing 
Mr.  Bollan  endeavored  to  speak;  but,  though  he 
had  been  summoned,  he  was  summarily  silenced,  on 
the  ground  that  the  colonial  Council,  whose  agent 
he  was,  was  not  a  party  to  the  petition.  Franklin 
then  laid  the  petition  and  authenticated  copies  of 

Excellency   Thomas  Hutchinson,   Esq.,    etc.,  by  Thomas  Orlando 
Hutchinson,  pp.  5,  82-93,  192,  356. 


186  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

the  letters  before  the  committee.  Some  objections 
to  the  receipt  of  copies  instead  of  originals  were 
raised  by  Mr.  Wedderburn,  solicitor-general  and 
counsel  for  Hutchinson  and  Oliver.  Franklin 
then  spoke  with  admirable  keenness  and  skill. 
He  said  that  he  had  not  conceived  the  matter  to 
call  for  discussion  by  lawyers ;  but  that  it  was  a 
"question  of  civil  or  political  prudence,  whether, 
on  the  state  of  the  fact  that  the  governors  had  lost 
all  trust  and  confidence  with  the  people,  and  be- 
come universally  obnoxious,  it  would  be  for  the 
interest  of  his  majesty's  service  to  continue  them 
in  those  stations  in  that  province."  Of  this  he 
conceived  their  lordships  to  be  "perfect  judges," 
not  requiring  "assistance  from  the  arguments  of 
counsel."  Yet  if  counsel  was  to  be  heard  he 
asked  an  adjournment  to  enable  him  to  engage 
and  instruct  lawyers.  Time  was  accordingly 
granted,  until  January  29.  Wedderburn  waived 
his  objection  to  the  copies,  but  both  he  and  Lord 
Chief  Justice  De  Grey  intimated  that  inquiry 
would  be  made  as  to  "  how  the  Assembly  came 
into  possession  of  them,  through  whose  hands  and 
by  what  means  they  were  procured,  .  .  .  and  to 
whom  they  were  directed."  This  was  all  irrele- 
vant to  the  real  issue,  which  had  been  sharply 
defined  by  Franklin.  The  lord  president,  near 
whom  Franklin  stood,  asked  him  whether  he  in- 
tended to  answer  such  questions.  "In  that  I 
shall  take  counsel,"  replied  Franklin. 

The  interval  which  elapsed  before  the  day  nomi- 


THE  HUTCHINSON  LETTERS  187 

nated  could  not  have  been  very  lightsome  for  the 
unfortunate  agent  for  the  Massachusetts  Bay. 
Not  only  had  he  the  task  of  selecting  and  in- 
structing competent  counsel,  but  even  his  self- 
possessed  and  composed  nature  must  have  beeu 
severely  harassed  by  the  rumors  of  which  the  air 
was  full.  He  heard  from  all  quarters  that  the 
ministry  and  courtiers  were  highly  enraged 
against  him;  he  was  called  an  incendiary,  and  the 
newspapers  teemed  with  invectives  against  him. 
He  heard  that  he  was  to  be  apprehended  and  sent 
to  Newgate,  and  that  his  papers  were  to  be  seized ; 
that  after  he  had  been  sufficiently  blackened  by 
the  hearing  he  would  be  deprived  of  his  place; 
with  disheartening  news  also  that  the  disposition 
of  the  petition  had  already  been  determined.1 
At  the  same  time  a  subpoena  was  served  upon  him 
at  the  private  suit  of  Whately,  who  was  under 
personal  obligations  to  him,  but  was  also  a  banker 
to  the  government.  Certainly  the  heavens  threat- 
ened a  cloudburst  with  appalling  thunder  and 
dangerous  lightning. 

Upon  reflection  Franklin  was  disposed  to  do 
without  counsel,  but  Mr.  Bollan  now  became 
strongly  of  the  contrary  opinion.  So  Mr.  Dun- 
ning and  Mr.  John  Lee  were  retained.  The  for- 
mer had  been  solicitor-general,  and  was  a  man  of 
mark  and  ability  in  the  profession.  When  the 
hearing  came  on,  the  Cockpit  presented  such  a 
spectacle  that  Franklin  felt  assured  that  the  whole 

1  Franklin's  Works,  v.  297,  298. 


188  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

affair  had  been  "preconcerted."  The  hostile 
courtiers  had  been  "invited,  as  to  an  entertain- 
ment, and  there  never  was  such  an  appearance  of 
privy  councilors  on  any  occasion,  not  less  than 
thirty -five,  besides  an  immense  crowd  of  other 
auditors."  Every  one  save  the  privy  councilors 
had  to  stand  from  beginning  to  end  of  the  pro- 
ceedings. Franklin  occupied  a  position  beside 
the  fireplace,  where  he  stood  throughout  immov- 
able as  a  statue,  his  features  carefully  composed 
so  that  not  one  trace  of  emotion  was  apparent 
upon  them,  showing  a  degree  of  self-control  which 
was  extraordinary  even  in  one  who  was  at  once  a 
man  of  the  world  and  a  philosopher,  with  sixty- 
eight  years  of  experience  in  life.  Mr.  Dunning, 
with  his  voice  unfortunately  weakened  by  a  cold, 
was  not  always  audible  and  made  little  impres- 
sion. Mr.  Lee  was  uselessly  feeble.  Wedder- 
burn,  thus  inefficiently  opposed,  and  conscious  of 
the  full  sympathy  of  the  tribunal,  poured  forth 
a  vile  flood  of  personal  invective.  Throughout 
his  life  he  approved  himself  a  mean-spirited  and 
ignoble  man,  despised  by  those  who  used  and  re- 
warded his  able  and  debased  services.  On  this 
occasion  he  eagerly  took  advantage  of  the  protec- 
tion afforded  by  his  position  and  by  Dr.  Frank- 
lin's age  to  use  language  which,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, was  as  cowardly  as  it  was  false. 
Nothing,  he  said,  "will  acquit  Dr.  Franklin  of 
the  charge  of  obtaining  [the  letters]  by  fraudulent 
or  corrupt  means,  for  the  most  malignant  of  pur- 


THE   HUTCHINSON  LETTERS  189 

poses,  unless  he  stole  them  from  the  person  who 
stole  them."  "I  hope,  my  lords,  you  will  mark 
and  brand  the  man,  for  the  honor  of  this  country, 
of  Europe,  and  of  mankind."  "He  has  forfeited 
all  the  respect  of  societies  and  of  men.  Into  what 
companies  will  he  hereafter  go  with  an  unembar- 
rassed face  or  the  honest  intrepidity  of  virtue? 
Men  will  watch  him  with  a  jealous  eye ;  they  will 
hide  their  papers  from  him,  and  lock  up  their 
escritoires.  He  will  henceforth  esteem  it  a  libel  to 
be  called  a  man  of  letters,  homo  trium  2  litera- 
rum."  "But  he  not  only  took  away  the  letters 
from  one  brother,  but  kept  himself  concealed  till 
he  nearly  occasioned  the  murder  of  the  other.  It 
is  impossible  to  read  his  account,  expressive  of 
the  coolest  and  most  deliberate  malice,  without 
horror.  Amidst  these  tragical  events,  —  of  one 
person  nearly  murdered,  of  another  answerable  for 
the  issue,  of  a  worthy  governor  hurt  in  his  dearest 
interests,  the  fate  of  America  in  suspense,  —  here 
is  a  man  who,  with  the  utmost  insensibility  of 
remorse,  stands  up  and  avows  himself  the  author 
of  all.  I  can  compare  it  only  to  Zanga,  in  Dr. 
Young's  '  Revenge.' 

'  Know  then  't  was  —  I ; 
I  forged  the  letter,  I  disposed  the  picture  ; 
I  hated,  I  despised,  and  I  destroy.' 

I  ask,   my  lords,  whether  the  revengeful  temper 
attributed,   by  poetic  fiction  only,  to  the  bloody 

1  A  play  upon  the  Latin  word,  fur,  a  thief. 


190  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

African,   is   not   surpassed   by   the   coolness  and 
apathy  of  the  wily  American." 

Such  was  the  torrent  of  vilification  which  flowed 
from  the  lips  of  one  of  the  meanest  of  England's 
lawyers,  and  the  speaker  was  constantly  encour- 
aged by  applause,  and  by  various  indications  of 
gratification  on  the  part  of  the  tribunal  before 
which  he  argued.  Dr.  Priestley,  who  was  pre- 
sent, said  that  from  the  opening  of  the  proceed- 
ings it  was  evident  "that  the  real  object  of  the 
court  was  to  insult  Dr.  Franklin,"  an  object  in 
which  their  lordships  were,  of  course,  able  to 
achieve  a  complete  success.  uNo  person  belong- 
ing to  the  council  behaved  with  decent  gravity, 
except  Lord  North,"  who  came  late  and  remained 
standing  behind  a  chair.  It  was  a  disgraceful 
scene,  but  not  of  long  duration ;  apparently  there 
was  little  else  done  save  to  hear  the  speeches  of 
counsel.  The  report  of  the  lords  was  dated  on 
the  same  day,  and  was  a  severe  censure  upon  the 
petition  and  the  petitioners.  More  than  this, 
their  lordships  went  out  of  their  way  to  inflict  a 
wanton  outrage  upon  Franklin.  The  question  of 
who  gave  the  letters  to  him  was  one  which  all 
concerned  were  extremely  anxious  to  hear  an- 
swered. But  it  was  also  a  question  which  he 
could  not  lawfully  be  compelled  to  answer  in  these 
proceedings;  it  was  wholly  irrelevant;  moreover 
it  was  involved  in  the  cause  then  pending  before 
the  lord  chancellor  in  which  Franklin  was  respond- 
ent.    Accordingly,  by  advice  of   counsel,   advice 


THE  HUTCHINSON  LETTERS  191 

unquestionably  correct,  he  refused  to  divulge  what 
their  lordships  were  so  curious  to  hear.  Enraged, 
they  said  in  their  report  that  his  "silence"  was 
abundant  support  for  the  conclusion  that  the 
"charge  of  surreptitiously  obtaining  the  letters 
was  a  true  one,"  although  they  knew  that  in  law 
and  in  fact  his  silence  was  wholly  justifiable. 

Resolutely  as  Franklin  sought  at  the  time  to 
repress  any  expression  of  his  natural  indignation, 
there  is  evidence  enough  of  how  deeply  he  felt 
this  indignity.  For  example,  there  is  the  familiar 
story  of  his  dress.  He  wore,  at  the  Cockpit,  "a 
full  dress  suit  of  spotted  Manchester  velvet." 
Many  years  afterward,  when  it  befell  him,  as  one 
of  the  ambassadors  of  his  country,  to  sign  the 
treaty  of  alliance  with  France,  the  first  treaty  ever 
made  by  the  United  States  of  America,  and  which 
practically  insured  the  defeat  of  Great  Britain  in 
the  pending  war,  it  was  observed  by  Dr.  Bancroft 
that  he  was  attired  in  this  same  suit.  The  sign- 
ing was  to  have  taken  place  on  February  5,  but 
was  unexpectedly  postponed  to  the  next  day, 
when  again  Franklin  appeared  in  the  same  old 
suit  and  set  his  hand  to  the  treaty.  Dr.  Ban- 
croft says:  "I  once  intimated  to  Dr.  Franklin  the 
suspicion  which  his  wearing  these  clothes  on  that 
occasion  had  excited  in  my  mind,  when  he  smiled, 
without  telling  me  whether  it  was  well  or  ill 
founded."  Having  done  this  service,  the  suit 
was  again  laid  away  until  it  was  brought  forth  to 
be  worn  at  Paris  at  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of 


192  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

peace  with  England,  a  circumstance  the  more 
noteworthy  since  at  that  time  the  French  court 
was  in  mourning.1 

It  appears  that  Franklin  for  a  time  entertained 
a  purpose  of  drawing  up  an  "answer  to  the 
abuses "  cast  at  him  upon  this  occasion.  There 
was,  however,  no  need  for  doing  so,  and  his  reason 
for  not  doing  it  is  more  eloquent  on  his  behalf 
with  posterity  than  any  pamphlet  could  be.  He 
said:  "It  was  partly  written,  but  the  affairs  of 
public  importance  I  have  been  ever  since  engaged 
in  prevented  my  finishing  it.  The  injuries  too 
that  my  country  has  suffered  have  absorbed  pri- 
vate resentments,  and  made  it  appear  trifling  for 
an  individual  to  trouble  the  world  with  his  par- 
ticular justification,  when  all  his  compatriots  were 
stigmatized  by  the  king  and  Parliament  as  being 
in  every  respect  the  worst  of  mankind." 

The  proceedings  at  the  Cockpit  took  place  on  a 
Saturday.  On  the  following  Monday  morning 
Franklin  got  a  "written  notice  from  the  secretary 
of  the  general  post-office,  that  his  majesty's  post- 
master-general found  it  necessary  to  dismiss  me 
from  my  office  of  deputy  postmaster -general  in 
North  America."  In  other  ways,  too,  the  mischief 
done  him  by  this  public  assault  could  not  be  con- 
cealed. It  published  to  all  the  world  the  feeling 
of  the  court  and  the  ministry  toward  him,  and  told 
Englishmen  that  it  was  no  longer  worth  while  to 
keep  up  appearances  of  courtesy  and  good  wilL 

1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  ii.  508. 


THE  HUTCHINSON   LETTERS  193 

It  put  upon  him  a  judicial  stigma,  which  was 
ample  excuse  for  the  enemies  of  America  hence- 
forth to  treat  him  as  both  dishonored  and  dishon- 
orable. Hitherto  his  tact  and  his  high  character 
had  preserved  him  in  a  great  measure  from  the 
social  annoyances  and  curtailments  which  he 
would  naturally  have  suffered  as  the  prominent 
representative  of  an  unpopular  cause.  But  it 
seemed  now  as  if  his  judgment  had  once  and 
fatally  played  him  false,  and  certainly  his  good 
name  and  his  prestige  were  given  over  to  his 
enemies,  who  dealt  cruelly  with  them.  He  felt 
that  it  was  the  end  of  his  usefulness,  also  that  his 
own  self-respect  and  dignity  must  be  carefully 
preserved;  and  he  wrote  to  the  Assembly  of 
Massachusetts  to  say  that  it  would  be  impossible 
for  him  longer  to  act  as  its  agent.  From  that 
time  he  never  attended  the  levee  of  a  minister. 
The  portcullis  had  dropped;  the  days  of  his  ser- 
vice in  England  were  over. 

The  conclusion  had  come  painfully,  yet  it  was 
not  without  satisfaction  that  he  saw  himself  free 
to  return  home.  His  affairs  had  suffered  in  his 
absence,  and  needed  his  attention  now  more  than 
ever,  since  he  was  deprived  of  his  income  from  the 
post-office.  Moreover  his  efforts  could  no  longer 
be  cheered  with  hopes  of  success  or  even  of  achiev- 
ing any  substantial  advantage  for  his  countrymen. 
He  was  obliged  to  admit  that  the  good  disposition 
of  Lord  Dartmouth  had  had  no  practical  results. 
"No  single  measure  of  his  predecessor  has  since 


194  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

been  even  attempted  to  be  changed,  and,  on  the 
contrary,  new  ones  have  been  continually  added, 
further  to  exasperate  these  people,  render  them 
desperate,  and  drive  them,  if  possible,  into  open 
rebellion."  It  had  been  a  vexatious  circum- 
stance, too,  that  not  long  before  this  time  he  had 
received  a  rebuke  from  the  Massachusetts  As- 
sembly for  having  been  lax,  as  they  fancied,  in 
notifying  them  of  some  legislation  of  an  injurious 
character,  which  was  in  preparation.  "This  cen- 
sure," he  said,  "though  grievous,  does  not  so 
much  surprise  me,  as  I  apprehended  all  along 
from  the  beginning  that  between  the  friends  of 
an  old  agent,  my  predecessor,  who  thought  him- 
self hardly  used  in  his  dismission,  and  those  of  a 
young  man  impatient  for  the  succession,  my  situa- 
tion was  not  likely  to  be  a  very  comfortable  one, 
as  my  faults  could  scarce  pass  unobserved."  This 
reference  to  the  malicious  and  untrustworthy  back- 
biter, Arthur  Lee,  might  have  been  much  more 
severe,  and  still  amply  deserved.  The  most  im- 
portant acts  of  his  ignoble  life,  by  which  alone 
his  memory  is  preserved,  were  the  slanders  which 
he  set  in  circulation  concerning  Franklin.  Yet 
Franklin,  little  suspicious  and  very  magnanimous, 
praised  him  as  a  "gentleman  of  parts  and  abil- 
ity," likely  to  serve  the  province  with  zeal  and 
activity.  Probably  from  this  impure  Lee  fount, 
but  possibly  from  some  other  source,  there  now 
came  a  renewal  of  the  rumors  that  Franklin  was 
to  be  gained  over  to  the  ministerial  side  by  pro- 


THE   HUTCHINSON  LETTERS  195 

motion  to  some  office  superior  to  that  which  he 
had  held.  The  injurious  story  was  told  in  Bos- 
ton, where  perhaps  a  few  persons  believed  it  to  be 
true  of  a  man  who  in  fact  could  hardly  have  set 
upon  his  fealty  a  price  so  high  that  the  British 
government  would  not  gladly  have  paid  it,  and 
who  heretofore  had  been,  and  at  this  very  time 
again  was,  tempted  by  repeated  solicitations  and 
the  intimations  of  grand  rewards,  only  to  change 
his  mind  —  a  matter  so  very  easy  in  politics. 

Furthermore,  beyond  these  assaults  upon  his 
fidelity,  these  insults  of  the  privy  council,  Frank- 
lin had  to  contemplate  the  possibility  of  personal 
danger.  He  was  a  man  of  abundant  courage,  but 
courage  does  not  make  a  prison  or  a  gallows  an 
agreeable  object  in  one's  horizon.  The  news- 
papers alleged  that  in  his  correspondence  "trea- 
son "  had  been  discovered.  The  ministry,  as  he 
was  directly  informed,  thought  no  better  of  him 
than  did  the  editors,  regarding  him  as  "the  great 
fomenter  of  the  opposition  in  America,"  the 
"great  adversary  to  any  accommodation."  "It  is 
given  out,"  he  wrote,  "that  copies  of  several 
letters  of  mine  to  you  are  sent  over  here  to  the 
ministers,  and  that  their  contents  are  treasonable, 
for  which  I  should  be  prosecuted  if  copies  could 
be  made  evidence."  He  was  not  conscious  of  any 
treasonable  intention,  but  treason  was  a  word  to 
make  a  man  anxious  in  those  days,  when  uttered 
by  the  ministry  and  echoed  by  the  court.  Frank- 
lin was  quite  aware  that,  though  ministers  might 


196  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

offer  him  a  tempting  place  by  way  of  bribe,  they 
would  far  rather  give  him  "a  place  in  a  cart  to 
Tyburn."  His  friends  warned  him  that  his  situ- 
ation was  hazardous;  that,  "if  by  some  accident 
the  troops  and  the  people  of  New  England  should 
come  to  blows,"  he  would  doubtless  be  seized; 
and  they  advised  him  to  withdraw  while  yet  he 
could  do  so.  Hutchinson  frankly  avowed  that,  if 
his  advice  were  taken,  the  withdrawal  would  not 
be  permitted.  "  But,"  said  Franklin,  "I  ven- 
ture to  stay,"  upon  the  chance  of  still  being  of 
use,  "and  I  confide  on  my  innocence  that  the 
worst  which  can  happen  to  me  will  be  an  impris- 
onment upon  suspicion ;  though  that  is  a  thing  I 
should  much  desire  to  avoid,  as  it  may  be  expen- 
sive and  vexatious,  as  well  as  dangerous  to  my 
health."  So  spoke  this  imperturbable  man,  and 
calmly  stayed  at  his  post. 

He  was  still  consulted  by  both  sides  in  Eng- 
land. In  the  August  following  the  scene  in  the 
privy  council  chamber,  he  called  upon  Lord  Chat- 
ham and  had  a  long  and  interesting  interview. 
He  then  said  that  he  attributed  the  late  "wrong 
politics "  to  the  departure  from  the  old  and  true 
British  principle,  "whereby  every  province  was 
well  governed,  being  trusted  in  a  great  measure 
with  the  government  of  itself."  When  it  was 
sought  to  take  this  privilege  from  the  colonies, 
grave  blunders  had  inevitably  ensued;  because, 
as  he  admirably  expressed  it,  Parliament  insisted 
upon  being   omnipotent   when  it  was   not   omni- 


THE   HUTCHINSON   LETTERS  197 

scient.  In  other  words,  the  affairs  of  the  unre- 
presented colonies  were  mismanaged  through  sheer 
ignorance.  It  is  noteworthy  that  England  has 
since  recognized  the  necessity  of  precisely  the 
principle  indicated  by  Franklin  for  colonial  gov- 
ernment; all  her  great  colonies  are  now  "trusted 
in  a  great  measure  with  the  government"  of 
themselves,  and  are  consequently  "well  gov- 
erned." Franklin  further  assured  his  lordship 
that  in  all  his  travels  in  the  provinces  he  had 
never  once  heard  independence  hinted  at  as  a 
desirable  thing.  This  gave  Chatham  much  plea- 
sure ;  but  perhaps  neither  of  them  at  the  moment 
reflected  how  many  eventful  years  had  elapsed 
since  Franklin  was  last  journeying  in  America. 
He  further  declared  that  the  colonists  were  "even 
not  against  regulations  of  the  general  commerce 
by  Parliament,  provided  such  regulations  were 
bona  fide  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  empire,  not 
to  the  small  advantage  of  one  part  to  the  great 
injury  of  another."  This,  by  the  way,  was  a 
good  point,  which  he  found  very  serviceable 
when  people  talked  to  him  about  the  unity  of  the 
empire.  A  genuine  unity  was  just  the  gospel 
which  he  liked  to  preach.  "  An  equal  dispensa- 
tion," he  said,  "of  protection,  rights,  privileges, 
and  advantages  is  what  every  part  is  entitled  to, 
and  ought  to  enjoy,  it  being  a  matter  of  no  mo- 
ment to  the  state  whether  a  subject  grows  rich 
and  flourishing  on  the  Thames  or  the  Ohio,  in 
Edinburgh  or  Dublin."     But  no  living  English- 


198  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

man  could  accept  this  broad  and  liberal  doctrine. 
The  notion  that  the  colonies  were  a  dependency 
and  should  be  tributary  to  the  greater  power  was 
universal.  It  was  admitted  that  they  should  not 
be  oppressed;  but  it  was  believed  that  between 
oppression  and  that  perfect  unity  which  involved 
entire  equality  there  was  certainly  a  middle  ground 
whereon  the  colonies  might  properly  be  established. 
Lord  Chatham  expressed  in  courteous  compli- 
ments the  gratification  which  this  visit  afforded 
him.  Not  long  afterward  he  came  gallantly  to 
the  defense  of  Franklin  in  the  House  of  Lords. 
It  was  one  day  in  February,  1775 ;  Franklin  was 
standing  in  full  view,  leaning  on  a  rail;  Lord 
Sandwich  was  speaking  against  a  measure  of  con- 
ciliation or  agreement  just  introduced  by  Chat- 
ham. He  said  that  it  deserved  "only  contempt," 
and  "ought  to  be  immediately  rejected.  I  can 
never  believe  it  to  be  the  production  of  any  Brit- 
ish peer.  It  appears  to  me  rather  the  work  of 
some  American.  I  fancy  I  have  in  my  eye  the 
person  who  drew  it  up,  one  of  the  bitterest  and 
most  mischievous  enemies  this  country  has  ever 
known."  Speaking  thus,  he  looked  full  at 
Franklin,  and  drew  upon  him  the  general  atten- 
tion. But  Chatham  hastened  to  defend  the  de- 
fenseless one.  "The  plan  is  entirely  my  own," 
he  said;  "but  if  I  were  the  first  minister,  and 
had  the  care  of  settling  this  momentous  business,  I 
should  not  be  ashamed  of  calling  to  my  assistance 
a  person   so  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  whole 


THE  HUTCHINSON  LETTERS  199 

of  American  affairs,  one  whom  all  Europe  ranks 
with  our  Boyles  and  Newtons,  as  an  honor  not  to 
the  English  nation  only  but  to  human  nature." 
This  was  spirited  and  friendly;  Franklin  had  a 
way  of  making  warm  and  loyal  friends.  Most  men 
would  have  rejoiced  to  be  so  abused  by  Sandwich 
in  order  to  be  so  complimented  by  Chatham.1 

Yet,  in  spite  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  so 
many  Englishmen  still  held  Franklin,  an  incident 
occurred  at  this  time  which  showed  very  plainly 
that  the  term  of  his  full  usefulness  was  indeed 
over,  though  not  altogether  for  the  reasons  which 
had  led  him  to  think  so.  The  fact  was  that  the 
proverbial  last  feather  which  breaks  the  back  had 
been  laid  upon  him.  His  endurance  had  been 
overtaxed,  and  he  was  at  last  in  that  temper  and 
frame  of  mind  in  which  the  wisest  men  are  liable 
to  make  grave  mistakes.  He  was  one  day  present 
at  a  debate  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  found 
himself,  as  he  says,  "much  disgusted,  from  the 
ministerial  side,  by  many  base  reflections  on 
American  courage,  religion,  understanding,  etc., 
in  which  we  were  treated  with  the  utmost  con- 
tempt, as  the  lowest  of  mankind,  and  almost  of  a 
different  species  from  the  English  of  Britain ;  but 
particularly  the  American  honesty  was  abused  by 
some  of  the  lords,  who  asserted  that  we  were  all 
knaves,  etc."  Franklin  went  home  "somewhat 
irritated  and  heated,"  and  before  he  had  cooled 
he  wrote  a  paper  which  he  hastened  to  show  to  his 
1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  v.  220. 


200  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

friend  Mr.  Thomas  Walpole,  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Commons.  Mr.  Walpole  "looked  at 
it  and  at  me  several  times  alternately,  as  if  he 
apprehended  me  a  little  out  of  my  senses."  Nor 
would  Mr.  Walpole  have  been  altogether  without 
reason,  if  in  fact  he  entertained  such  a  suspicion. 
The  paper  was  the  memorial  of  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  secretary  of  state. 
In  its  first  clause  it  demanded  "reparation"  for 
the  injury  done  by  the  blockade  of  the  port  of 
Boston.  Conventional  forms  of  speech  were 
observed,  yet  there  was  an  atmosphere  almost  of 
injurious  insolence,  entirely  foreign  to  all  other 
productions  of  Franklin's  brain  and  pen.  Its 
second  paragraph  recited  that  the  conquests  made 
in  the  northeast  from  France,  which  included  all 
those  extensive  fisheries  which  still  survive  as  a 
bone  of  contention  between  the  two  countries,  had 
been  jointly  won  by  England  and  the  American 
colonies,  at  their  common  cost,  and  by  an  army 
in  which  the  provincial  troops  were  nearly  equal 
in  numbers  to  the  British.  "It  follows,"  the 
audacious  memorialist  said,  "that  the  colonies 
have  an  equitable  and  just  right  to  participate  in 
the  advantage  of  those  fisheries,"  and  the  present 
English  attempt  to  deprive  the  Massachusetts 
people  of  sharing  in  them  was  "an  act  highly 
unjust  and  injurious."  He  concluded:  "I  give 
notice  that  satisfaction  will  probably  one  day  be 
demanded  for  all  the  injury  that  may  be  done  and 
suffered  in  the  execution  of  such  act;  and  that  the 


THE  HUTCHINSON   LETTERS  201 

injustice  of  the  proceeding  is  likely  to  give  such 
umbrage  to  all  the  colonies  that  in  no  future  war, 
wherein  other  conquests  may  be  meditated,  either 
a  man  or  a  shilling  will  be  obtained  from  any  of 
them  to  aid  such  conquests,  till  full  satisfaction  be 
made  as  aforesaid." 

Here  was  indeed  a  fulmination  to  strike  an 
Englishman  breathless  and  dumb  with  amaze- 
ment. It  put  the  colonies  in  the  position  of  a 
coequal  or  allied  power,  entitled  to  share  with 
Britain  the  spoils  of  victory;  even  in  the  position 
of  an  independent  power  which  could  refuse  the 
military  allegiance  of  subjects.  English  judges 
would  have  found  abundant  treason  in  this  insub- 
ordinate document.  It  may  soothe  common  men 
to  see  the  wise,  the  serene,  the  self-contained  Dr. 
Franklin,  the  philosopher  and  diplomatist,  for 
once  lose  his  head  in  a  gust  of  uncontrollable  pas- 
sion. Walpole,  though  a  loyal  Englishman,  was 
fortunately  his  true  friend,  and  wrote  him,  with 
a  brevity  more  impressive  than  argument,  that  the 
memorial  "might  be  attended  with  dangerous 
consequences  to  your  person  and  contribute  to 
exasperate  the  nation."  He  closed  with  the  sig- 
nificant sentence:  "I  heartily  wish  you  a  pros- 
perous voyage  and  long  health."  The  significant 
words  remind  one  of  the  woodcock's  feather  with 
which'  Wildrake  warned  the  disguised  monarch 
that  no  time  was  to  be  lost  in  fleeing  from  Wood- 
stock. But  if  the  hint  was  curt,  it  was  no  less 
wise.     There  was  no  doubt  that  it  was  full  time 


202  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

for  the  sage  to  be  exchanging  his  farewells,  when 
such  a  point  had  been  reached.  The  next  day, 
as  Franklin  relates,  Walpole  called  and  said  that 
"it  was  thought  my  having  no  instructions  direct- 
ing me  to  deliver  such  a  protest  would  make  it 
appear  still  more  unjustifiable,  and  be  deemed  a 
national  affront.  I  had  no  desire  to  make  mat- 
ters worse,  and,  being  grown  cooler,  took  the 
advice  so  kindly  given  me." 

The  last  business  which  Franklin  had  to  trans- 
act on  the  eve  of  his  departure  came  in  the  shape 
of  one  of  those  mysterious  and  obscure  bits  of 
negotiation  which  are  at  times  undertaken  by  pri- 
vate persons  who  are  very  "near"  to  ministers, 
and  who  conduct  their  affairs  with  impressive 
secrecy.  Just  how  much  this  approach  amounted 
to  it  is  difficult  to  say;  no  less  a  person  than 
Lord  Howe  was  concerned  in  it,  and  he  was 
undoubtedly  in  direct  communication  with  Lord 
North.  But  whether  that  potentate  really  antici- 
pated any  substantial  good  result  may  be  doubted. 
Franklin  himself  has  told  the  story  with  much 
particularity,  and  since  it  will  neither  bear  cur- 
tailment nor  admit  of  being  related  at  length,  and 
since  the  whole  palaver  accomplished  absolutely 
nothing,  the  relation  will  be  omitted  here.  In  the 
course  of  it  the  efforts  to  bribe  Franklin  were 
renewed,  and  briefly  rejected  by  him.  Also  he 
met,  and  established  a  very  friendly  personal  rela- 
tion with,  Lord  Howe,  who  afterward  commanded 
the  British  fleet  in  American  waters. 


THE  HUTCHINSON  LETTERS  203 

Having  discovered  the  emptiness  of  this  busi- 
ness, Franklin  at  last  completed  his  arrangements 
for  his  return  home.  He  placed  his  agencies  in 
the  hands  of  Arthur  Lee.  His  last  day  in  Lon- 
don he  passed  with  his  stanch  old  friend,  Dr. 
Priestley,  and  a  large  part  of  the  time,  says  the 
doctor,  "he  was  looking  over  a  number  of  Ameri- 
can newspapers,  directing  me  what  to  extract  from 
them  for  the  English  ones;  and  in  reading  them 
he  was  frequently  not  able  to  proceed  for  the  tears 
literally  running  down  his  cheeks."  Such  was  the 
depth  of  feeling  in  one  often  accounted  callous, 
indifferent,  or  even  untrustworthy  in  the  matter 
of  American  relations  with  England.  He  felt 
some  anxiety  as  to  whether  his  departure  might 
not  be  prevented  by  an  arrest,  and  made  his  jour- 
ney to  Portsmouth  with  such  speed  and  precau- 
tions as  were  possible.1  But  he  was  not  inter- 
rupted, and  sailed  on  some  day  near  the  middle  of 
March,  1775.  His  departure  marked  an  era  in 
the  relations  of  Great  Britain  with  her  American 
colonies.  It  signified  that  all  hope  of  agreement, 
all  possibility  of  reconciliation  upon  one  side  or 
of  recession  upon  the  other,  were  absolutely  over. 
That  Franklin  gave  up  in  despair  the  task  of 
preventing  a  war  meant  that  war  was  certain  and 
imminent.  He  arrived  in  Philadelphia  May  5, 
1775.  During  his  absence  his  wife  had  died,  and 
his  daughter  had  married  a  young  man,  Richard 
Bache,  whom  he  had  never  yet  seen. 

1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  ii.  70. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

SERVICES   IN  THE   STATES 

From  the  solitude  of  the  ocean  to  the  seething 
turmoil  which  Franklin  found  in  the  colonies  must 
have  been  a  startling  transition.  He  had  come 
home  an  old  man,  lacking  but  little  of  the  allotted 
threescore  years  and  ten.  He  had  earned  and 
desired  repose,  but  never  before  had  he  encoun- 
tered such  exacting,  important,  and  unremitting 
labor  as  immediately  fell  to  his  lot.  Lexington 
and  Concord  fights  had  taken  place  a  fortnight 
before  he  landed,  and  the  news  preceded  him  in 
Philadelphia  by  a  few  days  only.  Many  feelings 
may  be  discerned  in  the  brief  note  which  he  wrote 
on  May  16  to  Dr.  Priestley :  — 

"  Dear  Friend,  —  You  will  have  heard,  before  this 
reaches  you,  of  a  march  stolen  by  the  regulars  into  the 
country  by  night,  and  of  their  expedition  back  again. 
They  retreated  twenty  miles  in  six  hours.  The  gover- 
nor had  called  the  Assembly  to  propose  Lord  North's 
pacific  plan,  but  before  the  time  of  their  meeting  began 
the  cutting  of  throats.  You  know  it  was  said  he  carried 
the  sword  in  one  hand  and  the  olive  branch  in  the  other, 
and  it  seems  he  chose  to  give  them  a  taste  of  the  sword 
first." 


SERVICES  IN   THE   STATES  205 

To  another  correspondent  he  said  that  "the 
feeble  Americans,  who  pelted  them  all  the  way, 
could  scarcely  keep  up  with  "  the  rapidly  retreat- 
ing redcoats.  But  the  occurrence  of  bloodshed 
had  an  immense  meaning  for  Franklin ;  it  opened 
to  his  vision  all  the  future:  an  irreconcilable 
struggle,  and  finally  independence,  with  a  bitter 
animosity  long  surviving.  He  could  not  address 
all  those  who  had  once  been  near  and  dear  to  him 
in  England  as  he  did  the  good  Dr.  Priestley.  The 
letter  to  Strahan  of  July  5,  1775,  is  famous :  — 

"  Mr.  Strahan,  —  You  are  a  member  of  Parliament, 
and  one  of  that  majority  which  has  doomed  my  country 
to  destruction.  You  have  begun  to  burn  our  towns  and 
murder  our  people.  Look  upon  your  hands  ;  they  are 
stained  with  the  blood  of  your  relations  !  You  and  I 
were  long  friends ;  you  are  now  my  enemy,  and  I  am, 
"  Yours,  B.  Franklin." 

But  strained  as  his  relations  with  Strahan  were 
for  a  while,  it  is  agreeable  to  know  that  the  es- 
trangement between  such  old  and  close  friends  was 
not  everlasting. 

To  write  at  length  concerning  Franklin's  ser- 
vices during  his  brief  stay  at  home  would  involve 
giving  a  history  of  the  whole  affairs  of  the  colo- 
nies at  this  time.  But  space  presses,  and  this 
ground  is  familiar  and  has  been  traversed  in  other 
volumes  in  this  series.  It  seems  sufficient,  there- 
fore, rather  to  enumerate  than  to  narrate  his  vari- 
ous engagements,  and  thus  to  reserve  more  room 
for  less  well-known  matters. 


206  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

On  the  very  day  after  his  return,  when  he  had 
scarce  caught  the  breath  of  land,  he  was  unani- 
mously elected  by  the  Assembly  a  delegate  to  the 
Provincial  Congress.  It  was  an  emergency  when 
the  utmost  must  be  made  of  time,  brains,  and 
men.  By  subsequent  reelections  he  continued  to 
sit  in  that  body  until  his  departure  for  France. 
There  was  business  enough  before  it :  the  organ- 
ization of  a  government,  of  the  army,  of  the 
finances ;  most  difficult  of  all,  the  arrangement  of 
a  national  policy,  and  the  harmonizing  of  conflict- 
ing opinions  among  men  of  influence  at  home.  In 
all  that  came  before  the  Congress  Franklin  was 
obliged  to  take  his  full  share.  He  seems  to  have 
been  upon  all  the  busy  and  important  committees. 
There  were  more  ardent  spirits,  greater  propelling 
forces,  than  he  was;  but  his  wisdom  was  tran- 
scendent. Dickinson  and  his  followers  were  bent 
upon  sending  one  more  petition  to  the  king, 
a  scheme  which  was  ridiculed  almost  with  anger 
by  the  more  advanced  and  resolute  party.  But 
Franklin's  counsel  was  to  give  way  to  their 
wishes,  as  being  the  best  policy  for  bringing  them 
later  into  full  accord  with  the  party  which  was  for 
war.  He  had  no  hopes  of  any  other  good  result 
from  the  proceeding;  but  it  also  chimed  with  his 
desire  to  put  the  English  as  much  as  possible  in 
the  wrong.  In  the  like  direction  was  a  clause  in 
his  draft  of  a  declaration,  intended  to  be  issued 
by  Washington  in  the  summer  of  1775.  To 
counteract  the  charge  that  the  colonies  refused  to 


SERVICES  IN  THE  STATES  207 

contribute  to  the  cost  of  their  own  protection, 
he  proposed  that,  if  Great  Britain  would  abolish 
her  monopoly  of  the  colonial  trade,  allowing  free 
commerce  between  the  colonies  and  all  the  rest  of 
the  world,  they  would  pay  into  the  English  sink- 
ing fund  £100,000  annually  for  one  hundred 
years;  which  would  be  more  than  sufficient,  if 
"faithfully  and  inviolably  applied  for  that  pur- 
pose, ...  to  extinguish  all  her  present  national 
debt." 

At  the  close  of  this  document  he  administered  a 
telling  fillip  in  his  humorous  style  to  that  numer- 
ous class  who  seek  to  control  practical  affairs  by 
sentiment,  and  who  now  would  have  had  their 
prattle  about  the  "mother  country"  outweigh  the 
whole  accumulation  of  her  very  unmaternal  op- 
pression and  injustice.  Concerning  the  allegation 
of  an  unfilial  ingratitude,  he  said:  "There  is 
much  more  reason  for  retorting  that  charge  on 
Britain,  who  not  only  never  contributes  any  aid, 
nor  affords,  by  an  exclusive  commerce,  any  ad- 
vantages to  Saxony,  her  mother  country;  but,  no 
longer  since  than  the  last  war,  without  the  least 
provocation,  subsidized  the  king  of  Prussia  while 
he  ravaged  that  mother  country,  and  carried  fire 
and  sword  into  its  capital.  .  .  .  An  example  we 
hope  no  provocation  will  induce  us  to  imitate." 
Had  this  declaration  ever  been  used,  which  it 
was  not,  the  dignity  of  the  grave  general  who  com- 
manded the  American  forces  would  have  com- 
pelled him  to   cut   off  this  closing  snapper  from 


208  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

the  lash,  amusing  as  it  was.  The  witty  notion 
had  found  a  more  appropriate  place  in  the  news- 
paper article  which  had  dumfounded  the  guests  at 
the  English  country  house.  Commenting  upon 
this,  Mr.  Parton  well  says:  "Here  perhaps  we 
have  one  of  the  reasons  why  Dr.  Franklin,  who 
was  universally  confessed  to  be  the  ablest  pen  in 
America,  was  not  always  asked  to  write  the  great 
documents  of  the  Revolution.  He  would  have 
put  a  joke  into  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
if  it  had  fallen  to  him  to  write  it.  .  .  .  His  jokes, 
the  circulating  medium  of  Congress,  were  as  help- 
ful to  the  cause  as  Jay's  conscience  or  Adams's 
fire;  .  .  .  but  they  were  out  of  place  in  formal, 
exact,  and  authoritative  papers."1 

A  document  which  cost  Dr.  Franklin  much 
more  labor  than  this  declaration  was  a  plan  for  a 
union  of  the  colonies,  which  he  brought  forward 
July  21,  1115.  It  was  the  "first  sketch  of  a  plan 
of  confederation  which  is  known  to  have  been 
presented  to  Congress."  No  final  action  was  ever 
taken  upon  it.  It  contained  a  provision  that 
Ireland,  the  West  India  Islands,  the  Canadian 
possessions,  and  Florida  might,  upon  application, 
be  received  into  the  confederation. 

Franklin's  duties  in  Congress  were  ample  to 
consume  his  time  and  strength;  but  they  were  far 
from  being  all  that  he  had  to  do.  Almost  imme- 
diately after  his  return  he  was  made  chairman  of 
a  committee  for  organizing  the  postal  service  of 

1  Life  of  Franklin,  ii.  85. 


SERVICES   IN  THE  STATES  209 

the  country.  In  execution  of  this  duty  he  estab- 
lished in  substance  that  system  which  has  ever 
since  prevailed;  and  he  was  then  at  once  ap- 
pointed postmaster-general,  with  a  salary  of 
£1000  per  annum.  When  franking  letters  he 
amused  himself  by  changing  the  formula,  "Free: 
B.  Franklin"  into  "B.  Free,  Franklin." 

He  was  next  made  chairman  of  the  provincial 
committee  of  safety,  a  body  which  began  its  sit- 
tings at  the  comfortable,  old-fashioned  hour  of  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  Its  duty  was  to  call  out 
and  organize  all  the  military  resources  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  generally  to  provide  for  the  defenses 
of  the  province.  It  worked  with  much  efficiency 
in  its  novel  and  difficult  department.  Among 
other  things,  Franklin  devised  and  constructed 
some  ingenious  "marine  chevaux  de  frise"  for 
closing  the  river  approaches  to  Philadelphia. 

In  October,  1775,  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  Assembly  of  the  Province.  But  this  did  not 
add  to  his  labors ;  for  the  oath  of  allegiance  had 
not  yet  been  dispensed  with;  he  would  not  take 
it,  and  resigned  his  seat. 

In  September,  1775,  Franklin,  Lynch  of  South 
Carolina,  and  Harrison  of  Virginia,  as  a  commit- 
tee of  Congress,  were  dispatched  to  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  to  confer  with  Washington  con- 
cerning military  affairs.  They  rode  from  Phila- 
delphia to  the  leaguer  around  Boston  in  thirteen 
days.  Their  business  was  achieved  with  no  great 
difficulty;  but  they  lingered  a  few  days  more  in 


210  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

that  interesting  camp,  and  were  absent  six  weeks. 
General  Greene  has  recorded  how  he  gazed  upon 
Franklin,  "that  very  great  man,  with  silent  ad- 
miration;" and  Abigail  Adams  tells  with  what 
interest  she  met  him  whom  "from  infancy  she  had 
been  taught  to  venerate,"  and  how  she  read  in  his 
grave  countenance  "patriotism  in  its  full  lustre" 
and  with  it  "blended  every  virtue  of  a  Christian." 
The  phrase  was  not  well  chosen  to  fall  from  the 
pen  of  Mrs.  Adams,  yet  was  literally  true ;  Frank- 
lin had  the  virtues,  though  dissevered  from  the 
tenets  which  that  worthy  Puritan  dame  conceived 
essential  to  the  make-up  of  a  genuine  Christian. 
The  time  came  when 'her  husband  would  not  have 
let  her  speak  thus  in  praise  of  Benjamin  Franklin. 
In  the  spring  of  1776  Congress  was  inconsid- 
erate enough  to  impose  upon  Franklin  a  journey 
to  Montreal,  there  to  confer  with  General  Arnold 
concerning  affairs  in  Canada.  It  was  a  severe, 
even  a  cruel  task  to  put  upon  a  man  of  his  age ; 
but  with  his  usual  tranquil  courage  he  accepted 
the  mission.  He  met  the  ice  in  the  rivers,  and 
suffered  much  from  fatigue  and  exposure ;  indeed, 
the  carelessness  of  Congress  was  near  depriving 
the  country  of  a  life  which  could  not  have  been 
spared.  On  April  15  he  wrote  from  Saratoga: 
"I  begin  to  apprehend  that  I  have  undertaken  a 
fatigue  that  at  my  time  of  life  may  prove  too 
much  for  me;  so  I  sit  down  to  write  to  a  few 
friends  by  way  of  farewell;"  and  still  the  real 
wilderness  with  all  its  hardships  lay  before  him. 


SERVICES  IN  THE   STATES  211 

After  he  had  traversed  it  he  had  the  poor  reward 
of  finding  himself  on  a  bootless  errand.  The 
Canadian  enterprise  had  no  possible  future  save 
failure  and  retreat.  There  was  absolutely  nothing 
which  he  could  do  in  Canada;  he  was  being 
wasted  there,  and  resolved  to  get  away  as  soon  as 
he  could.  Accordingly  he  made  his  painful  way 
homeward ;  but  worn  out  as  he  was,  he  was  given 
scant  opportunity  to  recuperate  from  this  perilous 
and  mistaken  journey.  The  times  called  upon 
every  patriot  to  spend  all  he  had  of  vigor,  intel- 
lect, money,  life  itself,  for  the  common  cause,  and 
Franklin  was  no  niggard  in  the  stress. 

In  the  spring  of  1776  the  convention  charged 
to  prepare  a  constitution  for  the  independent 
State  of  Pennsylvania  was  elected.  Franklin  was 
a  member,  and  when  the  convention  came  together 
he  was  chosen  to  preside  over  its  deliberations. 
It  sat  from  July  16  to  September  28.  The  con- 
stitution which  it  presented  to  the  people  estab- 
lished a  legislature  of  only  one  house,  a  feature 
which  Franklin  approved  and  defended.  At  the 
close  of  the  deliberations  thanks  were  unanimously 
voted  to  him  for  his  services  as  presiding  officer, 
and  for  his  "able  and  disinterested  advice." 

Yet  in  spite  of  abundant  acts,  like  this,  of  real 
independence  taking  place  upon  all  sides,  profes- 
sion of  it  inspired  alarm  in  a  large  proportion  of 
the  people.  Congress  even  declared  formally  that 
independence  was  not  aimed  at.  Sam  Adams, 
disgusted,  talked  of  forming  a  New  England  con- 


212  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

federacy,  and  Franklin  approved  the  scheme  and 
said  that  in  such  an  event  he  would  cast  in  his  lot 
with  the  New  Englanders.  But  the  stream  ran 
on  in  spite  of  some  snags  in  the  current.  It  was 
not  much  later  that  Franklin  found  himself  one  of 
the  committee  of  five  elected  by  ballot  to  frame 
a  declaration  of  independence.  Had  he  been  called 
upon  to  write  the  document  he  would  certainly 
have  given  something  more  terse  and  simple  than 
that  rotund  and  magniloquent  instrument  which 
Jefferson  bequeathed  to  the  unbounded  admiration 
of  American  posterity.  As  it  was,  Franklin's 
recorded  connection  with  the  preparation  of  that 
famous  paper  is  confined  to  the  amusing  tale  about 
John  Thompson,  Hatter,  wherewith  he  mitigated 
the  miseries  of  Jefferson  during  the  debate;  and 
to  his  familiar  bonmot  in  reply  to  Harrison's 
appeal  for  unanimity:  "Yes,  we  must  indeed  all 
hang  together,  or  assuredly  we  shall  all  hang 
separately."  With  this  rather  grim  jest  upon  his 
lip,  he  set  his  signature  to  one  of  the  greatest 
documents  in  the  world's  history. 

When  it  came  to  shaping  the  machinery  of  the 
confederation,  the  great  difficulty,  as  is  well 
known,  lay  in  establishing  a  just  proportion  be- 
tween the  larger  and  the  smaller  States.  Should 
they  have  equal  weight  in  voting,  or  not?  It 
was  a  question  so  vital  and  so  hard  to  settle  that 
the  confederacy  narrowly  survived  the  strain. 
Franklin  was  decidedly  in  favor  of  making  the 
voting  value  proportionate  to  the  size,  measured 


SERVICES   IN  THE   STATES  213 

by  population,  of  the  several  States.  He  said: 
Let  the  smaller  colonies  give  equal  money  and 
men,  and  then  let  them  have  an  equal  vote.  If 
they  have  an  equal  vote  without  bearing  equal 
burdens,  a  confederation  based  on  such  iniquitous 
principles  will  not  last  long.  To  set  out  with  an 
unequal  representation  is  unreasonable.  There  is 
no  danger  that  the  larger  States  will  absorb  the 
smaller.  The  same  apprehension  was  expressed 
when  Scotland  was  united  to  England.  It  was 
then  said  that  the  whale  had  swallowed  Jonah; 
but  Lord  Bute's  administration  came  in,  and  then 
it  was  seen  that  Jonah  had  swallowed  the  whale. 
That  Scotch  favorite  was  the  provocation  for  many 
witty  sayings,  but  for  none  better  than  this. 

In  July,  1776,  Lord  Howe  arrived,  in  command 
of  the  English  fleet.  He  immediately  sought  to 
open  a  friendly  correspondence  with  Franklin.  He 
had  played  a  prominent  part  in  those  efforts  at 
conciliation  which  had  come  to  naught  just  before 
Franklin's  departure  from  England;  and  he  now 
renewed  his  generous  attempt  to  act  as  a  media- 
tor. There  is  no  doubt  that  this  nobleman,  as 
kindly  as  brave,  would  far  rather  have  reconciled 
the  Americans  than  have  fought  them.  By  permis- 
sion of  Congress  Franklin  replied  by  a  long  letter, 
not  deficient  in  courtesy  of  language,  but  full  of 
argument  upon  the  American  side,  and  in  a  tone 
which  there  was  no  misconceiving.  Its  closing 
paragraph  was :  — 

"I  consider  this  war  against  us,  therefore,  as  both 


214  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

unjust  and  unwise ;  and  I  am  persuaded  that  cool,  dis- 
passionate posterity  will  condemn  to  infamy  those  who 
advised  it,  and  that  even  success  will  not  save  from 
some  degree  of  dishonor  those  who  voluntarily  engaged 
to  conduct  it.  I  know  your  great  motive  in  coming 
hither  was  the  hope  of  being  instrumental  in  a  reconcili- 
ation ;  and  I  believe,  when  you  find  that  impossible  on 
any  terms  given  you  to  propose,  you  will  relinquish  so 
odious  a  command,  and  return  to  a  more  honorable  pri- 
vate station." 

If  the  Englishman  had  been  hot-tempered,  this 
would  probably  have  ended  the  correspondence; 
as  it  was,  he  only  delayed  for  a  while  before 
writing  civilly  again.  The  battle  of  Long  Island 
next  occurred,  and  Lord  Howe  fancied  that  that 
disaster  might  bring  the  Americans  to  their 
senses.  He  paroled  General  Sullivan,  and  by  him 
sent  a  message  to  Congress :  That  he  and  his  bro- 
ther had  full  powers  to  arrange  an  accommoda- 
tion; that  they  could  not  at  present  treat  with 
Congress  as  such,  but  would  like  to  confer  with 
some  of  its  members  as  private  gentlemen.  After 
a  long  debate  it  was  resolved  to  send  a  committee 
of  Congress  to  meet  the  admiral  and  the  general, 
and  Franklin,  John  Adams,  and  Edward  Rut- 
ledge  were  deputed.  Lord  Howe  received  them 
with  much  courtesy,  and  gave  them  a  lunch  before 
proceeding  to  business.  But  when  luncheon  was 
over  and  the  substance  of  the  errand  was  reached, 
it  was  very  shortly  disposed  of.  His  lordship 
opened  with  a  speech  of  elaborate  civility,   and 


SERVICES  IN  THE  STATES  215 

concluded  by  saying  that  he  felt  for  America  as 
for  a  brother,  and  if  America  should  fall  he 
should  feel  and  lament  it  like  the  loss  of  a  bro- 
ther. Franklin  replied:  "My  lord,  we  will  use 
our  utmost  endeavors  to  save  your  lordship  that 
mortification."  But  Lord  Howe  did  not  relish 
this  Yankee  wit.  He  continued  by  a  long,  ex- 
planatory, conciliatory  address.  At  its  close 
there  was  necessarily  brought  up  the  question  of 
the  character  in  which  the  envoys  came.  His 
lordship  thought  that  the  idea  of  Congress  might 
"easily  be  thrown  out  at  present."  Franklin 
adroitly  settled  it:  "Your  lordship  may  consider 
us  in  any  view  you  think  proper.  We  on  our 
part  are  at  liberty  to  consider  ourselves  in  our 
real  character.  But  there  is  really  no  necessity 
on  this  occasion  to  distinguish  between  members 
of  Congress  and  individuals.  The  conversation 
may  be  held  as  among  friends."  Mr.  Adams 
made  one  of  those  blunt  and  pugnacious  remarks 
which,  whenever  addressed  to  Englishmen,  are 
sure  to  endear  the  speaker  to  the  American 
nation.  Mr.  Rutledge  laid  over  it  the  courtesy 
of  a  gentleman ;  and  then  the  conference  came  to 
the  point. 

Lord  Howe  expressed  his  majesty's  earnest 
desire  for  a  permanent  peace  and  for  the  happi- 
ness of  his  American  subjects,  his  willingness  for 
a  reform  and  for  a  redress  of  grievances.  But  he 
admitted  that  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  an  awkward  obstacle.     He  asked:  "Is  there 


216  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

no  way  of  treating  back  of  this  step  of  independ- 
ency?" Franklin  replied  at  some  length,  'dos- 
ing with  the  words :  "  Forces  have  been  sent  out, 
and  towns  have  been  burnt.  We  cannot  now 
expect  happiness  under  the  domination  of  Great 
Britain.  All  former  attachments  are  obliterated. 
America  cannot  return  to  the  domination  of 
Great  Britain,  and  I  imagine  that  Great  Britain 
means  to  rest  it  upon  force."  Adams  said  :  "It 
is  not  in  our  power  to  treat  otherwise  than  as  in- 
dependent States;  and  for  my  own  part,  I  avow 
my  determination  never  to  depart  from  the  idea 
of  independency."  Rutledge  said:  "With  regard 
to  the  people  consenting  to  come  again  under  the 
English  government,  it  is  impossible.  I  can 
answer  for  South  Carolina."  Lord  Howe  re- 
plied: "If  such  are  your  sentiments,  I  can  only 
regret  that  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  bring  about 
the  accommodation  I  wish."  Thus  the  fruitless- 
ness  of  such  efforts  was  made  manifest;  of  all 
concerned,  it  is  probable  that  the  most  amiable  of 
Englishmen  was  the  only  one  who  was  disap- 
pointed at  the  result.  The  Americans  were  by 
no  means  displeased  at  having  another  and  con- 
clusive proof  to  convince  the  doubting  ones  that 
reconciliation  was  an  impossibility. 

Franklin's  language  was  expressive  of  the  way 
in  which  his  mind  had  worked.  Until  it  came  to 
the  "cutting  of  throats,"  he  had  never  altogether 
and  avowedly  given  up  hopes  that,  from  the  reser- 


SERVICES  IN  THE  STATES  217 

voir  of  unknown  things  in  the  future,  something 
might  in  time  come  forth  that  would  bring  about 
a  reasonable  accommodation.  But  the  first  blood- 
shed effected  a  change  in  his  feelings  as  irrevo- 
cable as  that  which  Hawthorne  so  subtly  repre- 
sents as  having  been  worked  in  the  nature  of 
Donatello  by  a  violent  taking  of  life.  " Bunker's 
Hill"  excited  him;  the  sack  of  Falmouth  affected 
him  with  terrible  intensity.  When  the  foolish 
petition  of  the  Dickinson  party  was  sent  to  Eng- 
land, he  wrote  to  Dr.  Priestley  that  the  colonies 
had  given  Britain  one  more  chance  of  recovering 
their  friendship,  "which,  however,  I  think  she  has 
not  sense  enough  to  embrace;  and  so  I  conclude 
she  has  lost  them  forever.  She  has  begun  to  burn 
our  seaport  towns,  secure,  I  suppose,  that  we  shall 
never  be  able  to  return  the  outrage  in  kind.  .  .  . 
If  she  wishes  to  have  us  subjects  .  .  .  she  is  now 
giving  us  such  miserable  specimens  of  her  govern- 
ment that  we  shall  ever  detest  and  avoid  it,  as  a 
combination  of  robbery,  murder,  famine,  fire,  and 
pestilence."  His  humor  could  not  be  altogether 
repressed,  but  there  were  sternness  and  bitterness 
underlying  it:  "Tell  our  dear,  good  friend,  Dr. 
Price,  who  sometimes  has  his  doubts  and  despond- 
encies about  our  firmness,  that  America  is  deter- 
mined and  unanimous;  a  very  few  Tories  and 
placemen  excepted,  who  will  probably  soon  export 
themselves.  Britain,  at  the  expense  of  three  mil- 
lions, has  killed  one  hundred  and  fifty  Yankees, 


*N 


218  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

this  campaign,  which  is  twenty  thousand  pounds 
ahead;  and  at  Bunker's  Hill  she  gained  a  mile 
of  ground,  half  of  which  she  lost  again  by  our 
taking  post  at  Ploughed  Hill.  During  the  same 
time  60,000  children  have  been  born  in  America. 
From  these  data  his  mathematical  head  will  easily 
calculate  the  time  and  expense  necessary  to  kill  us 
all,  and  conquer  our  whole  territory."  It  was 
a  comical  way  of  expressing  the  real  truth  that 
Britain  neither  would  nor  could  give  enough 
either  of  men,  or  money,  or  time  to  accomplish 
the  task  she  had  undertaken.  To  another  he 
wrote :  "  We  hear  that  more  ships  and  troops  are 
coming  out.  We  know  that  you  may  do  us  a 
great  deal  of  mischief,  and  are  determined  to  bear 
it  patiently  as  long  as  we  can.  But  if  you  flat- 
ter yourselves  with  beating  us  into  submission, 
you  know  neither  the  people  nor  the  country." 
Other  men  wrote  ardent  words  and  indulged  in 
the  rhetorical  extravagance  of  intense  excitement 
in  those  days;  Franklin  sometimes  cloaked  the 
intensity  of  his  feeling  in  humor,  at  other  times 
spoke  with  a  grave  and  self-contained  moderation 
which  was  within  rather  than  without  the  facts 
and  the  truth.  Everything  which  he  said  was 
true  with  precision  to  the  letter.  But  his  careful 
statement  and  measured  profession  indicate  rather 
than  belie  the  earnestness  of  his  feeling,  the 
strength  of  his  conviction,  and  the  fixedness  of 
his  resolution. 


SERVICES   IN  THE   STATES  219 

Thus  briefly  must  be  dismissed  the  extensive 
and  important  toil  of  eighteen  months,  probably 
the  busiest  of  Franklin's  long  and  busy  life.  In 
September,  1776,  he  was  elected  envoy  to  France, 
and  scant  space  is  left  for  narrating  the  events  of 
that  interesting  emoassage. 


CHAPTER  TX 

MINISTER   TO   FRANCE,    I 
DEANE    AND    BEAUMARCHAIS :     FOREIGN    OFFICERS 

It  is  difficult  to  pass  a  satisfactory  judgment 
upon  the  diplomacy  of  the  American  Revolution. 
If  one  takes  its  history  in  detail,  it  presents  a  dis- 
agreeable picture  of  importunate  knocking  at  the 
closed  doors  of  foreign  courts,  of  incessant  and 
almost  shameless  begging  for  money  and  for  any 
and  every  kind  of  assets  that  could  be  made  use- 
ful in  war,  of  public  bickering  and  private  slan- 
dering among  the  envoys  and.  agents  themselves. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  its  achievements  are  con- 
sidered, it  appears  crowned  with  the  distinction 
of  substantial,  repeated,  sometimes  brilliant  suc- 
cesses. A  like  contrast  is  found  in  its  personnel. 
Between  Franklin  and  Arthur  Lee  a  distance 
opens  like  that  between  the  poles,  in  which  stand 
such  men  as  Jay  and  Adams  near  the  one  extreme, 
Izard,  William  Lee,  and  Thomas  Morris  near  the 
other,  with  Deane,  Laurens,  Carmichael,  Jona- 
than Williams,  and  a  few  more  in  the  middle 
ground.  Yet  what  could  have  been  reasonably 
expected?  Franklin  had  had  some  dealings  with 
English  statesmen  upon  what  may  be  called  inter- 


MINISTER  TO  FRANCE  221 

national  business,  and  had  justly  regarded  himself 
in  the  light  of  a  quasi  foreign  minister.  But 
with  this  exception  not  one  man  in  all  the  colonies 
had  had  the  slightest  experience  in  diplomatic 
affairs,  or  any  personal  knowledge  of  the  require- 
ments of  a  diplomatic  office,  or  any  opportunity  to 
gain  any  ideas  on  the  subject  beyond  such  as  a 
well-educated  man  could  glean  from  reading  the 
scant  historical  literature  which  existed  in  those 
days.  It  was  difficult  also  for  Congress  to  know 
how  to  judge  and  discriminate  concerning  the 
material  which  it  found  at  its  disposal.  There 
had  been  nothing  in  the  careers  of  the  prominent 
patriots  to  indicate  whether  or  not  any  especial 
one  among  them  had  a  natural  aptitude  for  di- 
plomacy. The  selection  must  be  made  with  little 
knowledge  of  the  duties  of  the  position,  and  with 
no  knowledge  of  the  responsive  characteristics  of 
the  man.  It  was  only  natural  that  many  of  the 
appointments  thus  blindly  made  should  turn  out 
ill.  After  they  were  made,  and  the  appointees 
had  successfully  crossed  the  ocean  through  the 
dangerous  gauntlet  of  the  English  cruisers,  there 
arose  to  be  answered  in  Europe  the  embarrassing 
question:  What  these  self-styled  representatives 
represented.  Was  it  a  nation,  or  only  a  parcel  of 
rebels?  Here  was  an  unusual  and  vexatious  pro- 
blem, concerning  which  most  of  the  cautious  royal 
governments  were  in  no  hurry  to  commit  them- 
selves; and  their  reticence  added  greatly  to  the 
perplexities  of  the   fledgling   diplomats.     Nearly 


222  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

all  cabinets  felt  it  a  great  temptation  to  assist  the 
colonies  of  the  domineering  mistress  of  the  seas  to 
change  themselves  from  her  dependencies  into  her 
naval  rivals.  But  the  attempt  and  not  the  deed 
might  prove  confounding;  neither  could  a  wise 
monarch  assume  with  entire  complacency  the  posi- 
tion of  an  aider  and  an  abettor  of  a  rebellion  on 
the  part  of  subjects  whose  grievances  appeared 
chiefly  an  antipathy  to  taxation. 

From  the  earliest  moment  France  had  been 
hopefully  regarded  by  the  colonists  as  probably 
their  friend  and  possibly  their  ally.  To  France, 
therefore,  the  first  American  envoy  was  dispatched 
with  promptitude,  even  before  there  was  a  decla- 
ration of  independence  or  an  assumption  of  na- 
tionality. Silas  Deane  was  the  man  selected. 
He  was  the  true  Yankee  jack-at-all-trades ;  he 
had  been  graduated  at  Yale  College,  then  taught 
school,  then  practiced  law,  then  engaged  in  trade, 
had  been  all  the  while  advancing  in  prosperity 
and  reputation,  had  been  a  member  of  the  First 
and  Second  Congresses,  had  failed  of  reelection  to 
the  Third,  and  was  now  without  employment.  Mr. 
Parton  describes  him  as  "of  somewhat  striking 
manners  and  good  appearance,  accustomed  to  live 
and  entertain  in  liberal  style,  and  fond  of  showy 
equipage  and  appointment."  Perhaps  his  simple- 
minded  fellow  countrymen  of  the  provinces  fan- 
cied that  such  a  man  would  make  an  imposing 
figure  at  an  European  court.  He  developed  no 
other  peculiar  fitness  for  his  position ;  he  could  not 


MINISTER  TO  FRANCE  223 

even  speak  French ;  and  it  proved  an  ill  hour  for 
himself  in  which  he  received  this  trying  and  diffi- 
cult honor.  By  dint  of  native  shrewdness,  good 
luck,  and  falling  among  friends  he  made  a  fair 
beginning  ;  but  soon  he  floundered  beyond  his 
depth,  committed  some  vexatious  blunders,  and 
in  the  course  of  conducting  some  important  busi- 
ness at  last  found  himself  in  a  position  where  he 
had  really  done  right  but  appeared  to  have  done 
wrong,  without  being  free  to  explain  the  truth. 
The  result  was  that  he  was  recalled  upon  a  pre- 
text which  poorly  concealed  his  disgrace,  that  he 
found  even  his  reputation  for  financial  honesty 
clouded,  and  that  his  prospects  for  the  future 
were  of  the  worst.  He  was  not  a  man  of  suffi- 
cient mental  calibre  or  moral  strength  to  endure 
his  unmerited  sufferings  with  constancy.  After 
prolonged  disappointments  in  his  attempts  to  set 
himself  right  in  the  opinion  of  the  country,  he 
became  embittered,  lost  all  judgment  and  patriot- 
ism, turned  a  renegade  to  the  cause  of  America, 
which  had  wronged  him  indeed,  but  rather  in 
ignorance  than  from  malice,  and  died  unrecon- 
ciled, a  broken  and  miserable  exile.  Such  were 
the  perils  of  the  diplomatic  service  of  the  colonies 
in  those  days. 

Deane  arrived  in  France  in  June,  1776.  He 
had  with  him  a  little  ready  money  for  his  imme- 
diate personal  expenses,  and  some  letters  of  intro- 
duction from  Franklin.  It  was  intended  to  keep 
him   supplied  with  money  by  sending  cargoes  of 


224  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

tobacco,  rice,  and  indigo  consigned  to  him,  the 
proceeds  of  which  would  be  at  his  disposal  for  the 
public  service.  He  was  instructed  to  seek  an 
interview  with  de  Vergennes,  the  French  minis- 
ter for  foreign  affairs,  and  to  endeavor  with  all 
possible  prudence  and  delicacy  to  find  out  what 
signs  of  promise  the  disposition  of  the  French  gov- 
ernment really  held  for  the  insurgents.  He  was 
also  to  ask  for  equipment  for  25,000  troops,  am- 
munition, and  200  pieces  of  field  artillery,  all 
to  be  paid  for  —  when  Congress  should  be  able! 
In  France  he  was  to  keep  his  mission  cloaked  in 
secure  secrecy,  appearing  simply  as  a  merchant 
conducting  his  own  affairs;  and  he  was  to  write 
home  common  business  letters  under  the  very 
harmless  and  unsuggestive  name  of  Timothy 
Jones,  adding  the  real  dispatch  in  invisible  ink. 
But  these  commonplace  precautions  were  ren- 
dered of  no  avail  through  the  treachery  of  Dr. 
Edward  Bancroft,  an  American  resident  abroad, 
who  had  the  confidence  of  Congress,  but  who 
"accepted  the  post  of  a  paid  American  spy,  to 
prepare  himself  for  the  more  lucrative  office  of  a 
double  spy  for  the  British  ministers."  l  Deane, 
going  somewhat  beyond  his  instructions  to  corre- 
spond with  Bancroft,  told  him  everything.  Ban- 
croft is  supposed  to  have  passed  the  information 
along  to  the  British  ministry,  and  thus  enabled 
them  to  interpose  serious  hindrances  in  the  way 
of  the  ingenious  devices  of  the  Frenchmen. 
1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  vs..  63. 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  225 

Before  the  arrival  of  Deane  the  interests  of  the 
colonies  had  been  already  taken  in  hand  and  sub- 
stantially advanced  in  France  by  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  characters  in  history.  Caron  de  \ 
Beaumarchais  was  a  man  whom  no  race  save  the 
French  could  produce,  and  whose  traits,  career, 
and  success  lie  hopelessly  beyond  the  comprehen- 
sion of  the  Anglo-Saxon.  Bred  a  watchmaker, 
he  had  the  skill,  when  a  mere  youth,  to  invent  a 
clever  escapement  balance  for  regulating  watches ; 
had  he  been  able  to  insert  it  into  his  own  brain  he 
might  have  held  more  securely  his  elusive  good 
fortunes.  From  being  an  ingenious  inventor  he 
became  an  adventurer  general,  watchmaker  to  the 
king,  the  king's  mistresses,  and  the  king's  daugh- 
ters, the  lover,  or  rather  the  beloved,  of  the  wife 
of  the  controller  of  the  king's  kitchen,  then  him- 
self the  controller,  thence  a  courtier,  and  a  favor- 
ite of  the  royal  princesses.  Through  a  clever  use 
of  his  opportunities  he  was  able  to  do  a  great 
favor  to  a  rich  banker,  who  in  return  gave  him 
chances  to  amass  a  fortune,  and  lent  him  money 
to  buy  a  patent  of  nobility.  This  connection 
ended  in  litigation,  which  was  near  ruining  him; 
but  he  discovered  corruption  on  the  part  of  the 
judge,  and  thereupon  wrote  his  Memorials,  of 
which  the  wit,  keenness,  and  vivacity  made  him 
famous.  He  then  rendered  a  private,  personal, 
and  important  service  to  Louis  XV.,  and  soon 
afterwards  another  to  the  young  Louis  XVI. 
His  capacity  for  secret  usefulness  gave  him  fur- 


226  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

ther  occupation  and  carried  him  much  to  London. 
There  he  wrote  the  "Barber  of  Seville,"  and  there 
also  he  fell  in  with  Arthur  Lee  and  became  indoc- 
trinated with  grand  notions  of  the  resources  and 
value  of  the  colonies,  and  of  the  ruin  which  their 
separation  must  inflict  upon  England.  Further- 
more, as  a  Frenchman  he  naturally  consorted  with 
members  of  the  opposition  party  who  took  views 
very  favorable  to  America.  With  such  corrobo- 
ration of  Lee's  statements,  Beaumarchais,  never 
moderate  in  any  sentiment,  leaped  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  colonies  "must  be  invincible,"  and 
that  England  was  "upon  the  brink  of  ruin,  if  her 
neighbors  and  rivals  were  but  in  a  state  to  think 
seriously  of  it."  At  once  the  lively  and  ambi- 
tious fancy  of  the  impetuous  Frenchman  spread 
an  extravagant  panorama  of  the  possibilities  thus 
opened  to  England's  "natural  enemy."  He  be- 
came frenzied  in  the  American  cause.  In  long 
and  ardent  letters  he  opened  upon  King  Louis 
and  his  ministers  a  rattling  fire  of  arguments 
sound  and  unsound,  statements  true  and  untrue, 
inducements  reasonable  and  unreasonable,  fore- 
castings  probable  and  improbable,  policies  wise 
and  unwise,  all  designed  to  show  that  it  was  the 
bounden  duty  of  France  to  adopt  the  colonial 
cause.  The  king,  with  no  very  able  brain  at  any 
time,  was  very  young  and  wholly  inexperienced. 
He  gazed  bewildered  at  the  brilliant  pageantry  of 
Beaumarchais 's  wonderful  and  audacious  statecraft, 
and  sensibly  sought  the  advice  of  his  ministers. 


MINISTER   TO   FRANCE  227 

De  Vergennes  set  out  his  views,  in  agreement 
with  Beaumarchais.  He  declared  that  France 
now  had  her  opportunity  to  reduce  her  dangerous 
rival  to  the  place  of  a  second-rate  power.  To 
this  end  it  was  desirable  that  the  rebellion  should 
endure  at  least  one  year.  The  sufferings  of  the 
colonists  in  that  period  would  so  embitter  them 
that,  even  if  they  should  finally  be  subdued,  they 
would  ever  remain  a  restless,  dangerous  thorn  in 
the  side  of  England,  a  bond  with  a  heavy  penalty 
effectually  binding  her  to  keep  the  peace.  To 
make  sure  that  neither  side  should  move  for  peace 
before  this  one  valuable  year  of  warfare  should 
have  been  secured,  it  was  the  policy  of  France  to 
maintain  a  pacific  front  towards  Great  Britain, 
thus  relieving  her  from  any  fear  that  the  colonies 
would  obtain  a  French  alliance,  but  clandestinely 
to  furnish  the  insurgents  with  munitions  of  war 
and  money  sufficient  to  enable  and  encourage 
them  to  hold  out. 

The  wise  Turgot,  in  a  state  paper  marked  by 
great  ability,  opposed  French  intervention,  and 
proved  his  case.  Colonial  independence  was  sure 
to  come,  a  little  sooner  or  later.  Yet  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  colonies  would  be  the  best  possible 
assurance  that  England  would  not  break  the  peace 
with  France,  since  the  colonists,  being  mutinous 
and  discontented,  would  give  her  concern  enough. 
On  the  other  hand,  should  England  fail,  as  he 
anticipated  that  she  would,  in  this  war,  she  would 
hardly  emerge  from  it  in  condition  to  undertake 


OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


228  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

another  with  France.  As  for  the  colonies  them- 
selves, should  they  win,  the  character  of  the 
Americans  gave  augury  of  their  wishing  a  solid 
government  and  therefore  cultivating  peace.  He 
uttered  an  admirable  dissertation  upon  the  rela- 
tions between  colonies  and  a  parent  country,  and 
upon  the  value  of  colonies  in  its  bearing  upon 
the  present  question.  In  conclusion  he  gravely 
referred  to  the  alarming  deficit  in  the  French  ex- 
chequer as  the  strongest  of  all  arguments  against 
incurring  the  heavy  charge  of  a  war  not  absolutely 
unavoidable.  "For  a  necessary  war  resources 
could  be  found;  but  war  ought  to  be  shunned  as 
the  greatest  of  misfortunes,  since  it  would  render 
impossible,  perhaps  forever,  a  reform  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  prosperity  of  the  state  and  the 
solace  of  the  people."  The  king,  to  whom  these 
wise  words  were  addressed,  lived  to  receive  terri- 
ble proof  of  their  truth. 

This  good  advice  fell  in  well  with  the  bent  oi 
Louis's  mind.  For,  though  no  statesman,  he  had 
in  this  matter  a  sound  instinct  that  an  absolute 
monarch  aiding  rebels  to  erect  a  free  republic  was 
an  anomaly,  and  a  hazardous  contradiction  in  the 
natural  order  of  things.  But  de  Vergennes  was 
the  coming  man  in  France,  and  Turgot  no  longer 
had  the  influence  or  the  popularity  to  which  his 
ability  entitled  him.  In  May,  1776,  on  an  ill  day 
for  the  French  monarchy,  but  a  fair  one  for  the 
American  provinces,  this  able  statesman  was 
ousted  from  the  cabinet.     De  Vergennes  remained 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  229 

to  wield  entire  control  of  the  policy  of  the  king- 
dom in  this  business,  and  his  triumph  was  the 
great  good  fortune  of  the  colonies.  Yet  his  de- 
sign was  sufficiently  cautious,  and  strictly  limited 
to  the  advantage  of  his  own  country.  France 
was  not  to  be  compromised,  and  an  ingenious 
scheme  was  arranged. 

The  firm  of  Roderigue  Hortalez  &  Co.  made 
sudden  appearance  in  Paris.  Beaumarchais  alone 
conducted  its  affairs,  the  most  extraordinary 
merchant  surely  who  ever  engaged  in  extensive 
commerce!  The  capital  was  secretly  furnished 
by  the  Spanish  and  French  governments;  about 
§400,000  the  firm  had  to  start  with,  and  later  the 
French  government  contributed  $200,000  more. 
De  Vergennes  was  explicit  in  his  language  to 
Beaumarchais:  to  Englishmen  and  Americans 
alike  the  affair  must  be  an  "individual  specula- 
tion." With  the  capital  given  him  Beaumarchais 
must  "found  a  great  commercial  establishment," 
and  "at  his  own  risk  and  peril"  sell  to  the  colo- 
nies military  supplies.  These  would  be  sold  to 
him  from  the  French  arsenals ;  but  he  "  must  pay 
for  them."  From  the  colonies  he  must  "ask 
return  in  their  staple  products."  Except  that 
his  silent  partners  might  be  lenient  in  demanding 
repayment  Beaumarchais  really  was  to  be  a  mer- 
chant, engaged  in  an  exceptionally  hazardous 
trade.  If  he  regarded  himself  in  any  other  light 
he  was  soon  painfully  undeceived;  for  de  Ver- 
gennes was  in  earnest.     But  for  the  immediate 


230  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

present,  upon  the  moment  when  he  had  arranged 
these  preliminaries,  doubtless  fancying  the  gov- 
ernment at  his  back,  this  most  energetic  of  men 
plunged  into  his  work  with  all  the  ardor  of  his 
excitable  nature.  He  flew  hither  and  thither ;  got 
arms  and  munitions  from  the  government;  bought 
and  loaded  ships,  and  was  soon  conducting  an 
enormous  business. 

But  it  was  by  no  means  all  smooth  sailing  for 
the  vessels  of  Hortalez  &  Co. ;  for  Deane  arrived, 
not  altogether  opportunely,  just  as  Beaumarchais 
was  getting  well  under  weigh.  The  two  were 
soon  brought  together,  and  Deane  was  told  all 
that  was  going  on,  save  only  the  original  connec- 
tion of  the  French  government,  which  it  seems 
that  he  never  knew.  He  in  turn  told  all  to  Dr. 
Bancroft,  and  so  unwittingly  to  the  English  gov- 
ernment. Thereupon  the  watchful  English  cruis- 
ers effectually  locked  up  the  ships  of  Hortalez 
in  the  French  harbors.  Also  Lord  Stormont, 
the  English  ambassador,  harassed  the  French  gov- 
ernment with  ceaseless  representations  and  com- 
plaints concerning  these  betrayed  shipments  of 
contraband  cargoes.  At  the  same  time  the  news 
from  America,  coming  chiefly  through  English 
channels,  took  on  a  very  gloomy  coloring,  and 
lent  a  certain  emphasis,  to  these  protests  of  the 
English  minister.  De  Vergennes  felt  compelled 
to  play  out  his  neutral  part  even  more  in  earnest 
than  had  been  intended.  He  sent  to  the  ports  at 
which  Hortalez  &  Co.    had   ships  very  stringent 


MINISTER  TO  FRANCE  231 

instructions  to  check  unlawful  trade,  and  the  offi- 
cials obeyed  in  good  faith  to  the  letter.  Beau- 
marchais  was  seriously  embarrassed  at  finding 
himself  bearing  in  fact  the  mercantile  character 
which  he  had  supposed  that  he  was  only  dramati- 
cally assuming.  He  had  to  load  his  cargoes  and 
clear  his  ships  as  best  he  could,  precisely  like  any 
ordinary  dealer  in  contraband  wares;  there  was 
no  favoritism,  no  winking  at  his  breaches  of  the 
law.  The  result  was  that  it  was  a  long  while 
before  he  got  any  arms,  ammunition,  and  clothing 
into  an  American  port.  Moreover,  the  ships  from 
America  which  were  to  have  brought  him  pay- 
ment in  the  shape  of  tobacco  and  other  American 
commodities  failed  to  arrive;  his  royal  copartners 
declined  to  make  further  advances;  the  ready 
money  was  gone,  credit  had  been  strained  to  the 
breaking  point,  and  a  real  bankruptcy  impended 
over  the  sham  firm.  Thus  in  the  autumn  and 
early  winter  of  1776  prospects  in  France  wore  no 
cheerful  aspect  for  the  colonies.  It  was  at  this 
juncture  that  Franklin  arrived,  and  he  came  like 
a  reviving  breeze  from  the  sea. 

Long  and  anxiously  did  Congress  wait  to  get 
news  from  France;  not  many  trustworthy  ships 
were  sent  on  so  perilous  a  voyage,  and  of  those 
that  ventured  it  only  a  few  got  across  an  ocean 
"porcupined "  with  English  warships.  At  last 
in  September,  1776,  Franklin  received  from  Dr. 
Dubourg  of  Paris,  a  gentleman  with  whom  his 
friendship  dated  back  to  his  French  trip  in  1767, 


232  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

a  long  and  cheering  letter  full  of  gratifying  intel- 
ligence concerning  the  disposition  of  the  court, 
and  throwing  out  a  number  of  such  suggestions 
that  the  mere  reading  them  was  a  stimulus  to 
action.  Congress  was  not  backward  to  respond; 
it  resolved  at  once  to  send  a  formal  embassage. 
Franklin  was  chosen  unanimously  by  the  first  bal- 
lot. "I  am  old  and  good  for  nothing,"  he  whis- 
pered to  Dr.  Kush,  "  but,  as  the  storekeepers  say 
of  their  remnants  of  cloth,  '  I  am  but  a  fag  end 
and  you  may  have  me  for  what  you  please.'"1 
Thomas  Jefferson  and  Deane  were  elected  as  col- 
leagues; but  Jefferson  declined  the  service  and 
Arthur  Lee  was  put  in  his  stead.  The  Reprisal, 
sloop  of  war,  of  sixteen  guns,  took  Dr.  Franklin 
and  his  grandson  on  board  for  the  dangerous 
voyage.  It  was  a  very  different  risk  from  that 
which  Messrs.  Slidell  and  Mason  took  nearly  a 
century  later.  They  embarked  on  a  British  mail 
steamship,  and  were  subject,  as  was  proved,  only 
to  the  ordinary  perils  of  navigation.  But  had 
Franklin  been  caught  in  this  little  rebel  craft, 
which  had  actually  been  captured  from  English 
owners  and  condemned  as  prize  by  rebel  tribu- 
nals, and  which  now  added  the  aggravating  cir- 
cumstance that  she  carried  an  armament  sufficient 
to  destroy  a  merchantman  but  not  to  encoun- 
ter a  frigate,  he  would  have  had  before  him  at 
best  a  long  imprisonment,  at  worst  a  trial  for 
high   treason   and   a    halter.      Horace    Walpole 

1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  ii.  166. 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  233 

gave  the  news  that  "Dr.  Franklin,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-two  or  seventy-four,  and  at  the  risk  of  his 
head,  had  bravely  embarked  on  board  an  Ameri- 
can frigate."  Several  times  he  must  have  con- 
templated these  pleasing  prospects,  for  several 
times  the  small  sloop  was  chased  by  English  cruis- 
ers; but  she  was  a  swift  sailer  and  escaped  them 
all.  Just  before  making  port  she  captured  two 
English  brigs  and  carried  them  in  as  prizes. 

The  reference  to  Slid  ell  and  Mason,  by  the 
way,  calls  to  mind  the  humorous  but  accurate 
manner  in  which  Franklin  described  the  differ- 
ence between  revolution  and  rebellion.  Soon 
after  landing  from  this  hazardous  voyage  he  wrote 
merrily  to  a  lady  friend:  "You  are  too  early, 
hussy,  as  well  as  too  saucy,  in  calling  me  a  rebel. 
You  should  wait  for  the  event,  which  will  deter- 
mine whether  it  is  a  rebellion  or  only  a  revolution. 
Here  the  ladies  are  more  civil;  they  call  us  les  in- 
surgens,  a  character  which  usually  pleases  them." 

The  voyage,  though  quick,  was  very  rough,  and 
Franklin,  confined  in  a  small  cabin  and  "poorly 
nourished,"  since  much  of  the  meat  was  too  tough 
for  his  old  teeth,  had  a  hard  time  of  it;  so  that 
upon  coming  on  shore  he  found  himself  "much 
fatigued  and  weakened,"  indeed,  "almost  demol- 
ished." He  therefore  rested  several  days  at 
Nantes  before  going  to  Paris,  where  he  arrived 
just  before  the  close  of  the  year. 

The  excitement  which  his  arrival  in  the  French 
capital  created  was  unmistakable  evidence  of  the 


234  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

estimate  set  by  Europe  upon  his  abilities.  Some 
persons  in  England  endeavored  to  give  to  his  voy- 
age the  color  of  a  desertion  from  a  cause  of  which 

he  despaired.    "  The  arch ,  Dr.  Franklin,  has 

lately  eloped  under  a  cloak  of  plenipotentiary  to 
Versailles,"  wrote  Sir  Grey  Cooper.  But  Ed- 
mund Burke  refused  to  believe  that  the  man 
whom  he  had  seen  examined  before  the  privy 
council  was  "going  to  conclude  a  long  life,  which 
has  brightened  every  hour  it  has  continued,  with 
so  foul  and  dishonorable  a  flight."  Lord  Rock- 
ingham said  that  the  presence  of  Franklin  in 
Paris  much  more  than  offset  the  victory  of  the 
English  on  Long  Island,  and  their  capture  of  New 
York.  Lord  Stormont,  it  is  said,  threatened  to 
leave  sans  prendre  conge,  if  the  "chief  of  the 
American  rebels  "  were  allowed  to  come  to  Paris. 
The  adroit  de  Vergennes  replied  that  the  govern- 
ment had  already  dispatched  a  courier  to  direct 
Franklin  to  remain  at  Nantes;  but  since  they 
knew  neither  the  time  of  his  departure  nor  his 
route,  the  message  might  not  reach  him.  Should 
he  thus  innocently  arrive  in  Paris  it  would  be 
scandalous,  inhospitable,  and  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  nations  to  send  him  away.1 

But  while  the  English  were  angry,  the  French 
indulged  in  a  furore  of  welcome.  They  made 
feasts  and  hailed  the  American  as  the  friend  of 
human  kind,  as  the  "ideal  of  a  patriarchal  repub- 
lic and  of  idyllic  simplicity,"  as  a  sage  of  anti- 

1  Hale's  Franklin  in  France,  i.  73. 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  235 

quity;  and  the  exuberant  classicism  of  the  nation 
exhausted  itself  in  glorifying  him  by  comparisons 
with  those  great  names  of  Greece  and  Rome  which 
have  become  symbols  for  all  private  and  public 
virtues.  They  admired  him  because  he  did  not 
wear  a  wig ;  they  lauded  his  spectacles ;  they  were 
overcome  with  enthusiasm  as  they  contemplated 
his  great  cap  of  martin  fur,  his  scrupulously  white 
linen,  and  the  quaint  simplicity  of  his  brown 
Quaker  raiment  of  colonial  make.  They  noted 
with  amazement  that  his  "only  defense"  was  a 
"walking-stick  in  his  hand."  The  print-shops 
were  soon  full  of  countless  representations  of  his 
noble  face  and  venerable  figure,  set  off  by  all 
these  pleasing  adjuncts.  The  people  thronged  the 
streets  to  see  him  pass,  and  respectfully  made  way 
for  him.  He  seemed,  as  John  Adams  said  later, 
to  enjoy  a  reputation  "more  universal  than  that  of 
Leibnitz  or  Newton,  Frederick  or  Voltaire." 

So  soon  as  all  this  uproar  gave  him  time  to  look 
about  him,  he  established  himself  at  Passy,  in  a 
part  of  the  Hotel  de  Valentinois,  which  was  kindly 
placed  at  his  disposal  by  its  owner,  M.  Ray  de 
Chaumont.  In  this  at  that  time  retired  suburb 
he  hoped  to  be  able  to  keep  the  inevitable  but  use- 
less interruptions  within  endurable  limits.  Not 
improbably  also  he  was  further  influenced,  in  ac- 
cepting M.  Chaumont 's  hospitality,  by  a  motive 
of  diplomatic  prudence.  His  shrewdness  and 
experience  must  soon  have  shown  him  that  his 
presence  in  Paris,   if  not  precisely  distasteful  to 


236  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

the  French  government,  must  at  least  in  some 
degree  compromise  it,  and  might  by  any  indiscre- 
tion on  his  part  easily  be  made  to  annoy  and  vex 
the  ministers.  It  therefore  behooved  him  to  make 
himself  as  little  as  possible  conspicuous  in  any 
official  or  public  way.  A  rebuke,  a  cold  recep- 
tion, might  do  serious  harm;  nor  was  it  politic 
to  bring  perplexities  to  those  whose  friendship  he 
sought.  He  could  not  avoid,  nor  had  he  any 
reason  to  do  so,  the  social  eclat  with  which  he 
was  greeted;  but  he  must  shun  the  ostentation  of 
any  relationship  with  men  in  office.  This  would 
be  more  easily  accomplished  by  living  in  a  quarter 
somewhat  remote  and  suburban.  His  retirement, 
therefore,  while  little  curtailing  his  intercourse  with 
private  society,  evinced  his  good  tact,  and  doubt- 
less helped  his  good  standing  with  the  ministers. 
The  police  record  reports  that,  if  he  saw  them  at 
all,  it  was  secretly  and  under  cover  of  night.  He 
lived  in  comfortable  style,  but  not  showily,  keep- 
ing a  moderate  retinue  of  servants  for  appearance 
as  much  as  for  use,  and  a  carriage,  which  was 
indispensable  to  him.  John  Adams  charged  him 
with  undue  luxury  and  extravagance,  but  the  ac- 
cusation was  ridiculous. 

Very  exacting  did  the  business  of  the  American 
envoys  soon  become.  On  December  23,  1776, 
they  wrote  to  acquaint  the  Count  de  Vergennes 
that  they  were  "appointed  and  fully  empowered 
by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America 
to   propose  and  negotiate  a  treaty  of  amity  and 


MINISTER  TO  FRANCE  237 

commerce  between  France  and  the  United 
States;"  and  they  requested  an  audience  for  the 
purpose  of  presenting  their  credentials  to  his 
excellency.  Five  days  later  the  audience  was 
given  them.  They  explained  the  desire  of  the 
American  colonies  to  enter  into  a  treaty  of  alli- 
ance and  of  commerce.  They  said  that  the  colo- 
nists were  anxious  to  get  their  ships,  now  lying 
at  the  home  wharves  laden  with  tobacco  and  other 
products,  out  of  the  American  harbors,  and  to 
give  them  a  chance  to  run  for  France.  But  the 
English  vessels  hovered  thick  up  and  down  the 
coasts,  and  the  Americans,  though  able  to  take 
care  of  frigates,  could  not  encounter  ships  of  the 
line.  Would  not  France  lend  eight  ships  of  the 
line,  equipped  and  manned,  to  let  loose  all  this 
blockaded  commerce  which  was  ready  to  seek  her 
ports  and  to  fill  the  coffers  of  her  merchants? 
Under  all  the  circumstances  this  was  certainly 
asking  too  much ;  and  in  due  time  the  envoys  were 
courteously  told  so,  but  were  also  offered  a  strictly 
secret  loan  of  $400,000,  to  be  repaid  after  the 
war,  without  interest. 

It  appears  that  Franklin  had  substantially  no 
concern  in  the  quasi  commercial  transactions  pend- 
ing at  the  time  of  his  arrival  between  Deane  and 
Beaumarchais.  Deane  himself  did  not  know  and 
could  not  disclose  the  details  of  the  relationship 
between  Beaumarchais  and  the  government,  which 
indeed  were  not  explored  and  made  public  until 
more  than  half  a  century  had  elapsed  after  their 


238  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

occurrence.  Therefore  Franklin  saw  nothing  more 
than  mercantile  dealings  in  various  stages  of  for- 
wardness, whose  extensive  intricacies  it  did  not 
seem  worth  while  for  him  to  unravel  at  a  cost  of 
much  time  and  labor,  which  could  be  better  ex- 
pended in  other  occupations.1  Deane  held  all  the 
threads,  and  it  seemed  natural  and  proper  to 
leave  this  business  as  his  department.  So  Frank- 
lin never  had  more  than  a  general  knowledge 
concerning  this  imbroglio. 

This  leaving  all  to  Deane  might  have  been  well 
enough  had  not  Deane  had  an  implacable  enemy 
in  Arthur  Lee,  who,  for  that  matter,  resembled 
the  devil  in  at  least  one  particular,  inasmuch  as 
he  was  the  foe  of  all  mankind.  Beaumarchais 
early  in  the  proceedings  had  summarily  dropped 
Lee  from  his  confidence  and  instated  Deane  in 
the  vacancy.  This  was  sufficient  to  set  Lee  at 
once  at  traducing,  an  art  in  which  long  experience 
had  cultivated  natural  aptitude.  He  saw  great 
sums  of  money  being  used,  and  he  was  not  told 
whence  they  came.  But  he  guessed,  and  upon  his 
guess  he  built  up  a  theory  of  financial  knavery. 
Deane  had  repeatedly  assured  Beaumarchais  that 
he  should  receive  the  cargoes  of  American  produce 
with  promptitude,2  and  he  did  his  best  to  make 
these  promises  good,  writing  urgent  letters  to 
Congress  to  hasten  forward  the  colonial  merchan- 

1  Franklin's  Works,  vi.  199,  205 ;  viii.  153,  183  ;  Hale's  Frank- 
lin in  France,  i.  53. 

2  Hale's  Franklin  in  France,  i.  45. 


MINISTER  TO  FRANCE  239 

dise.  But  Arthur  Lee  mischievously  and  mali- 
ciously blocked  these  perfectly  straightforward  and 
absolutely  necessary  arrangements.  For  he  had 
conceived  the  notion  that  Beaumarchais  was  an 
agent  of  the  French  court,  that  the  supplies  were 
free  gifts  from  the  French  government,  and  that 
any  payments  for  them  to  Hortalez  &  Co.  would 
only  go  to  fill  the  rascal  purses  of  Deane  and 
Beaumarchais,  confederates  in  a  scheme  for  swin- 
dling. He  had  no  particle  of  evidence  to  sustain 
this  notion,  which  was  simply  the  subtle  concep- 
tion of  his  own  bad  mind ;  but  he  was  not  the  less 
positive  and  persistent  in  asserting  it  in  his  letters 
to  members  of  Congress.  Such  accounts  sadly 
puzzled  that  body;  and  it  may  be  imagined  to 
what  a  further  hopeless  degree  of  bewilderment 
this  gathering  of  American  lawyers  and  trades- 
men, planters  and  farmers,  must  have  been  reduced 
by  the  extraordinary  letters  of  the  wild  and  fanci- 
ful Beaumarchais.  The  natural  consequence  was 
that  the  easier  course  was  pursued,  and  no  mer- 
chandise was  sent  to  Hortalez.  If  affairs  had 
not  soon  taken  a  new  turn  in  France  this  error 
might  have  had  disastrous  consequences  for  the 
colonies.     In  fact,  it  only  ruined  poor  Deane. 

After  this  unfortunate  man  had  been  recalled, 
and  while  he  was  in  great  affliction  at  home  be- 
cause he  could  not  get  his  reputation  cleared  from 
these  Lee  slanders,  being  utterly  unable  in 
America  to  produce  even  such  accounts  and  evi- 
dence as  might  have  been  had  in  France,  Franklin 


240  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

more  than  once  volunteered  to  express  kindly  and 
emphatically  his  entire  belief  in  Deane 's  integrity. 
So  late  as  October,  1779,  though  admitting  his 
lack  of  knowledge  concerning  an  affair  in  which 
he  had  "never  meddled,"  he  still  thought  Deane 
"innocent."  Finally  in  1782,  when  Deane  had 
become  thoroughly  demoralized  by  his  hard  fate, 
Franklin  spoke  of  his  fall  not  without  a  note  of 
sympathy:  "He  resides  at  Ghent,  is  distressed 
both  in  mind  and  circumstances,  raves  and  writes 
abundance,  and  I  imagine  it  will  end  in  his  going 
over  to  join  his  friend  Arnold  in  England.  I  had 
an  exceedingly  good  opinion  of  him  when  he  acted 
with  me,  and  I  believe  he  was  then  sincere  and 
hearty  in  our  cause.  But  he  is  changed,  and  his 
character  ruined  in  his  own  country  and  in  this, 
so  that  I  see  no  other  but  England  to  which  he 
can  now  retire.  He  says  we  owe  him  about 
£12,000  sterling."1  But  of  this  Franklin  knew 
nothing,  and  proposed  getting  experts  to  examine 
the  accounts.  He  did  know  very  well,  however, 
what  it  was  to  be  accused  by  Arthur  Lee,  and 
would  condemn  no  man  upon  that  basis ! 

Yet  the  matter  annoyed  him  greatly.  On  June 
12,  1781,  he  wrote  acknowledging  that  he  was 
absolutely  in  the  dark  about  the  whole  business :  — 

"  In  1776,  being  then  in  Congress,  I  received  a  letter 

1  See  also  letter  to  Morris,  March  30,  1782,  Works,  vii.  419 ; 
also  viii.  225.  In  1835  sufficient  evidence  was  discovered  to  in- 
duce Congress  to  pay  to  the  heirs  of  this  unfortunate  man  a  part 
of  the  sum  due  to  him.     Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  ii.  362. 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  241 

from  Mr.  Lee,  acquainting  me  that  M.  Beaumarchais 
had  applied  to  him  in  London,  informing  him  that 
200,000  guineas  had  been  put  into  his  hands,  and  was  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Congress  ;  Mr.  Lee  added  that  it  was 
agreed  between  them  that  he,  M.  Beaumarchais,  should 
remit  the  same  in  arms,  ammunition,  etc.,  under  the 
name  of  Hortalez  &  Co.  Several  cargoes  were  accord- 
ingly sent.  Mr.  Lee  understood  this  to  be  a  private  aid 
from  the  government  of  France ;  but  M.  Beaumarchais 
has  since  demanded  from  Congress  payment  of  a  gross 
sum,  as  due  to  him,  and  has  received  a  considerable  part, 
but  has  rendered  no  particular  account.  I  have,  by 
order  of  Congress,  desired  him  to  produce  his  account, 
that  we  might  know  exactly  what  we  owed,  and  for 
what ;  and  he  has  several  times  promised  it,  but  has  not 
yet  done  it ;  and  in  his  conversation  he  often  mentions, 
as  I  am  told,  that  we  are  greatly  in  his  debt.  These 
accounts  in  the  air  are  unpleasant,  and  one  is  neither 
safe  nor  easy  under  them.  I  wish,  therefore,  you  could 
help  me  to  obtain  a  settlement  of  them.  It  has  been  said 
that  Mr.  Deane,  unknown  to  his  colleagues,  wrote  to  Con- 
gress in  favor  of  M.  Beaumarchais's  demand  ;  on  which 
Mr.  Lee  accuses  him  of  having,  to  the  prejudice  of  his 
constituents,  negotiated  a  gift  into  a  debt.  At  present 
all  that  transaction  is  in  darkness  ; 1  and  we  know  not 
whether  the  whole,  or  a  part,  or  no  part,  of  the  supplies 
he  furnished  were  at  the  expense  of  government,  the 
reports  we  have  had  being  so  inconsistent  and  contradic- 
tory ;  nor,  if  we  are  in  debt  for  them,  or  any  part  of 

1  Light  was  first  let  in  upon  this  darkness  by  Louis  de  Lo- 
m^nie,  in  his  Beaumarchais  et  Son  Temps  ;  and  the  story  as  told 
by  him  may  t»e  read,  in  a  spirited  version,  in  Parton's  Life  of 
Franklin,  chapters  vii.3  viii. 


242  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

them,  whether  it  is  the  king  or  M.  de  Beaumarchais  who 
is  our  creditor."  * 

What  chiefly  irritated  Congress  against  Deane 
arid  led  to  his  recall  was  neither  his  dealings  with 
Beaumarchais  nor  the  slanders  of  Lee,  but  quite 
another  matter,  in  which  he  certainly  showed 
much  lack  of  discretion.  Cargoes  of  arms  and 
munitions  of  war  were  very  welcome  in  the  States, 
but  cargoes  of  French  and  other  European  officers 
were  by  no  means  so.  Yet  the  inconsiderate 
Deane  sent  over  these  enthusiasts  and  adventurers 
in  throngs.  The  outbreak  of  the  rebellion  seemed 
to  arouse  a  spirit  of  martial  pilgrimage  in  Eu- 
rope, a  sort  of  crusading  ardor,  which  seized  the 
Frenchmen  especially,  but  also  some  few  officers 
in  other  continental  armies.  These  all  flocked  to 
Paris  and  told  Deane  that  they  were  burning  to 
give  the  insurgent  States  the  invaluable  assistance 
of  their  distinguished  services.  Deane  was  little 
accustomed  to  the  highly  appreciative  rhetoric 
with  which  the  true  Frenchman  frankly  describes 
his  own  merit,  and  apparently  accepted  as  correct 
the  appraisal  which  these  warriors  made  of  them- 
selves. Soon  they  alighted  in  swarms  upon  the 
American  coast,  besieged  the  doors  of  Congress, 
and  mingled  their  importunities  with  all  the  other 
harassments  of  Washington.  Each  one  of  them 
had  his  letter  from  Deane,  reciting  the  exagger- 
ated estimate  of  his  capacity,  and  worse  still  each 
one   was   armed   with    Deane' s   promise   that   he 

1  Hale's  Franklin  in  France,  i.  53. 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  243 

should  hold  in  the  American  army  a  rank  one 
grade  higher  than  he  had  held  in  his  home  ser- 
vice. To  keep  these  unauthorized  pledges  would 
have  resulted  in  the  resignation  of  all  the  good 
American  officers,  and  in  the  utter  disorganization 
of  the  army.  So  the  inevitable  outcome  was  that 
the  disappointed  adventurers  became  furious;  that 
Congress,  greatly  annoyed,  went  to  heavy  ex- 
penses in  sending  them  back  again  to  Europe, 
and  in  giving  some  douceurs,  which  could  be  ill 
afforded  by  the  giver  and  were  quite  insufficient 
to  prevent  the  recipients  from  spreading  at  home 
their  bitter  grudge  against  the  young  republic. 
Altogether  it  was  a  bad  business. 

No  sooner  was  Franklin's  foot  on  French  soil 
than  the  same  eager  horde  assailed  him.  But 
they  found  a  respondent  very  different  from 
Deane.  Franklin  had  experience.  He  knew  the 
world  and  men;  and  now  his  tranquil  judgment 
and  firmness  saved  him  and  the  applicants  alike 
from  further  blunders.  His  appreciation  of  these 
fiery  and  priceless  gallants,  who  so  dazzled  the 
simple-minded  Deane,  is  shown  with  charming 
humor  in  his  effort  to  say  a  kindly  word  for  his 
unfortunate  colleague.  He  did  not  wonder,  he 
said,  that  Deane,  — 

'•  being  then  a  stranger  to  the  people,  and  unacquainted 
with  the  language,  was  at  first  prevailed  on  to  make 
some  such  agreements,  when  all  were  recommended,  as 
they  always  are,  as  officiers  experimejites,  braves  comme 
leurs   epees,  pleins   de   courage,  de  talent,  et  de  zele 


244  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

pour  notre  cause,  etc.,  etc. ;  in  short,  mere  Caesars,  each 
of  whom  would  have  been  an  invaluable  acquisition  to 
America.  You  can  have  no  conception  how  we  are  still 
besieged  and  worried  on  this  head,  our  time  cut  to  pieces 
by  personal  applications,  besides  those  contained  in 
dozens  of  letters  by  every  post.  ...  I  hope  therefore 
that  favorable  allowance  will  be  made  to  my  worthy 
colleague  on  account  of  his  situation  at  the  time,  as  he 
has  long  since  corrected  that  mistake,  and  daily  ap- 
proves himself,  to  my  certain  knowledge,  an  able,  faith- 
ful, active,  and  extremely  useful  servant  of  the  public ; 
a  testimony  I  think  it  my  duty  of  taking  this  occasion  to 
make  to  his  merit,  unasked,  as,  considering  my  great  age, 
I  may  probably  not  live  to  give  it  personally  in  Congress, 
and  I  perceive  he  has  enemies." 

But  however  firmly  and  wisely  Franklin  stood 
out  against  the  storm  of  importunities  he  could  not 
for  a  long  time  moderate  it.  He  continued  to 
be  "besieged  and  worried,"  and  to  have  his  time 
"cut  to  pieces;  "  till  at  last  he  wrote  to  a  friend: 
"You  can  have  no  conception  how  I  am  harassed. 
All  my  friends  are  sought  out  and  teased  to  tease 
me.  Great  officers  of  all  ranks,  in  all  depart- 
ments, ladies  great  and  small,  besides  professed 
solicitors,  worry  me  from  morning  to  night.  The 
noise  of  every  coach  now  that  enters  my  court 
terrifies  me.  I  am  afraid  to  accept  an  invitation 
to  dine  abroad.  .  .  .  Luckily  I  do  not  often  in 
my  sleep  dream  of  these  vexatious  situations,  or  I 
should  be  afraid  of  what  are  now  my  only  hours  of 
comfort.  .  .  .  For  God's  sake,  my  dear  friend,  let 
this,  your  twenty -third  application,  be  your  last." 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  245 

His  plain-spoken  replies,  however  harshly  they 
may  have  struck  upon  Gallic  sensitiveness,  at  least 
left  no  room  for  any  one  to  misunderstand  him. 
"I  know  that  officers,  going  to  America  for 
employment,  will  probably  be  disappointed,"  he 
wrote;  "that  our  armies  are  full;  that  there  are 
a  number  of  expectants  unemployed  and  starving 
for  want  of  subsistence;  that  my  recommendation 
will  not  make  vacancies,  nor  can  it  fill  them  to  the 
prejudice  of  those  who  have  a  better  claim."  He 
also  wrote  to  Washington,  to  whom  the  letter 
must  have  brought  joyous  relief,  that  he  dissuaded 
every  one  from  incurring  the  great  expense  and 
hazard  of  the  long  voyage,  since  there  was  already 
an  over-supply  of  officers  and  the  chance  of 
employment  was  extremely  slight.1 

The  severest  dose  which  he  administered  must 
have  made  some  of  those  excitable  swords  quiver 
in  their  scabbards.     He  drew  up  and  used  this 

"  MODEL  OF   A    LETTER  OF   RECOMMENDATION  OF   A  PER- 
SON   YOU   ARE   UNACQUAINTED   WITIJ 

"  Sir,  —  The  bearer  of  this,  who  is  going  to  America, 
presses  me   to   give    him   a  letter   of  recommendation, 

1  As  an  example  of  the  manner  in  which  Franklin  sometimes 
was  driven  to  express  himself,  his  letter  to  M.  Lith  is  admirable. 
This  gentleman  had  evidently  irritated  him  somewhat,  and  Frank- 
lin demolished  him  with  a  reply  in  that  plain,  straightforward 
style  of  which  he  was  a  master,  in  which  appeared  no  anger,  but 
sarcasm  of  that  severest  kind  which  lies  in  a  simple  statement  of 
facts.  I  regret  that  there  is  not  space  to  transcribe  it,  but  it  may 
be  read  in  his  Works,  vi.  85. 


246  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

though  I  know  nothing  of  him,  not  even  his  name. 
This  may  seem  extraordinary,  but  I  assure  you  it  is  not 
uncommon  here.  Sometimes,  indeed,  one  unknown  per- 
son brings  another  equally  unknown  to  recommend  him  ; 
and  sometimes  they  recommend  one  another !  As  to 
this  gentleman,  I  must  refer  you  to  himself  for  his  char- 
acter and  merits,  with  which  he  is  certainly  better  ac- 
quainted than  I  can  possibly  be.  I  recommend  him 
however  to  those  civilities,  which  every  stranger,  of 
whom  one  knows  no  harm,  has  a  right  to  ;  and  I  request 
you  will  do  him  all  the  good  offices  and  show  him  all  the 
favor,  that,  on  further  acquaintance,  you  shall  find  him 
to  deserve.     I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c." 

It  would  be  entertaining  to  know  how  many  of 
these  letters  were  delivered,  and  in  what  phrases 
of  French  courtesy  gratitude  was  expressed  for 
them.  Sometimes,  if  any  one  persisted,  in  spite 
of  discouragement,  in  making  the  journey  at  his 
own  cost,  and,  being  forewarned,  also  at  his  own 
risk  of  disappointment,  Franklin  gave  him  a  letter 
strictly  confined  to  the  scope  of  a  civil  personal 
introduction.  Possibly,  now  and  again,  some 
useful  officer  may  have  been  thus  deterred  from 
crossing  the  water;  but  any  such  loss  was  com- 
pensated several  hundredfold  by  shutting  off  the 
intolerable  inundation  of  useless  foreigners.  Nor 
was  Franklin  wanting  in  discretion  in  the  matter; 
for  he  commended  Lafayette  and  Steuben  by  let- 
ters, which  had  real  value  from  the  fact  of  the  ex- 
treme rarity  of  such  a  warranty  from  this  source. 

Franklin  was  little  given  to  political  prophecy, 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  247 

but   it   is    interesting  to  read  a  passage  written 
shortly  after  his  arrival,  May  1,  1777 :  — 

"  All  Europe  is  on  our  side  of  the  question,  as  far  as 
applause  and  good  wishes  can  carry  them.  Those  who 
live  under  arbitrary  power  do  nevertheless  approve  of 
liberty,  and  wish  for  it ;  they  almost  despair  of  recover- 
ing it  in  Europe  ;  they  read  the  translations  of  our  sep- 
arate colony  constitutions  with  rapture ;  and  there  are 
such  numbers  everywhere  who  talk  of  removing  to 
America,  with  their  families  and  fortunes,  as  soon  as 
peace  and  our  independence  shall  be  established,  that  it 
is  generally  believed  that  we  shall  have  a  prodigious  ad- 
dition of  strength,  wealth,  and  arts  from  the  emigration 
of  Europe  ;  and  it  is  thought  that  to  lessen  or  prevent 
such  emigrations,  the  tyrannies  established  there  must 
relax,  and  allow  more  liberty  to  their  people.  Hence  it 
is  a  common  observation  here  that  our  cause  is  the  cause 
of  all  mankind,  and  that  we  are  fighting  for  their  lib- 
erty in  defending  our  own.  It  is  a  glorious  task  as- 
signed us  by  Providence,  which  has,  I  trust,  given  us 
spirit  and  virtue  equal  to  it,  and  will  at  last  crown  it 
with  success." 

The  statesmanship  of  the  time-honored  Euro- 
pean school,  ably  practiced  by  de  Vergennes,  was 
short-sighted  and  blundering  in  comparison  with 
this  broad  appreciation  of  the  real  vastness  and 
far-reaching  importance  of  that  great  struggle 
betwixt  the  Old  and  the  New. 


CHAPTER   X 

MINISTER   TO   FRANCE,    II 
PRISONERS:    TROUBLE   WITH   LEE   AND   OTHERS 

No  sooner  had  the  war  taken  on  an  assured 
character  than  many  quick-eyed  and  adventurous 
Americans,  and  Franklin  among  the  first,  saw 
irresistible  temptation  and  great  opportunity  in 
that  enormous  British  commerce  which  whitened 
all  the  seas.  The  colonists  of  that  day,  being  a 
seafaring  people  with  mercantile  instincts,  were 
soon  industriously  engaged  in  the  lucrative  field 
of  maritime  captures.  Franklin  recommended  the 
fortifying  of  three  or  four  harbors  into  which 
prizes  could  be  safely  carried.  Nothing  else,  he 
said,  would  give  the  new  nation  "greater  weight 
and  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  commercial 
states."  Privateering  is  not  always  described  by 
such  complimentary  and  dignified  language,  but  the 
practical-minded  rebel  spoke  well  of  that  which 
it  was  so  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  his  country- 
men to  do.  After  arriving  in  France  he  found 
himself  in  a  position  to  advance  this  business 
very  greatly.  Conyngham,  Wickes,  with  others 
only  less  famous,  all  active  and  gallant  men  as  ever 
trod  a  deck,  took  the  neighboring  waters  as  their 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  249 

chosen  scene  of  action,  and  very  soon  were  stirring 
up  a  commotion  such  as  Englishmen  had  never 
experienced  before.  They  harried  the  high,  and 
more  especially  the  narrow,  seas  with  a  success 
at  least  equal  to  that  of  the  Alabama,  while  some 
of  them  differed  from  Semmes  and  his  compeers 
in  being  as  anxious  to  fight  as  the  Southern  cap- 
tains were  to  avoid  fighting.  Prize  after  prize 
they  took  and  carried  into  port,  or  burned  and 
sank;  prisoners  they  had  more  than  they  knew 
what  to  do  with ;  they  frightened  the  underwriters 
so  that  in  London  the  insurance  against  capture 
ran  up  to  the  ruinous  premium  of  sixty  per  cent. 
The  Lisbon  and  the  Dutch  packets  fell  victims, 
and  insurance  of  boats  plying  between  Dover  and 
Calais  went  to  ten  per  cent.  Englishmen  began  to 
feel  that  England  was  blockaded!  We  are  not 
so  familiar  as  we  ought  to  be  with  the  interesting 
record  of  all  these  audacious  and  brilliant  enter- 
prises, conducted  with  dare-devil  recklessness  by 
men  who  would  not  improbably  have  been  hanged 
both  as  pirates  and  as  traitors,  had  fortune  led  to 
their  capture  at  this  moment  of  British  rage  and 
anxiety.1 

All  this  cruising  was  conducted  under  the 
auspices  of  Franklin.  To  him  these  gallant  rovers 
looked  for  instructions  and  suggestions,  for  money 
and  supplies.  He  had  to  issue  commissions,  to 
settle    personal   misunderstandings,    to    attend    to 

1  In  fact,  Conyngham,  being  at  last  captured,  narrowly  escaped 
this  fate. 


250  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

questions  of  prize  money,  to  soothe  unpaid  muti- 
neers, to  advise  as  to  the  purchase  of  ships,  and  as 
to  the  enterprises  to  be  undertaken ;  in  a  word,  he 
was  the  only  American  government  which  these 
independent  sailors  knew.  The  tax  thus  laid  upon 
him  was  severe,  for  he  was  absolutely  without 
experience  in  such  matters. 

There  was  one  labor,  however,  in  this  connec- 
tion, which  properly  fell  within  his  department, 
and  in  this  his  privateersmen  gave  him  abundant 
occupation.  It  was  to  stand  between  them  and 
the  just  wrath  and  fatal  interference  of  the  French 
government.  Crude  as  international  law  was  in 
those  days,  it  was  far  from  being  crude  enough 
for  the  strictly  illegitimate  purposes  of  these 
vikings.  What  they  expected  was  to  buy,  equip, 
man,  and  supply  their  vessels  in  French  ports,  to 
sail  out  on  their  prize-taking  excursions,  and, 
having  captured  their  fill,  to  return  to  these  same 
ports,  and  there  to  have  their  prizes  condemned, 
to  sell  their  booty,  to  refit  and  re-supply,  and 
then  to  sally  forth  again.  In  short,  an  English- 
man would  have  been  puzzled  to  distinguish  a 
difference  between  the  warlike  ports  of  America 
and  the  neutral  ports  of  France,  save  as  he  saw 
that  the  latter,  being  nearer,  were  much  the  more 
injurious.  But  de  Vergennes  had  no  notion  of 
being  used  for  American  purposes  in  this  jeopard- 
izing style.  He  did  not  mean  to  have  a  war  with 
England,  if  he  could  avoid  it;  so  he  gave  to  the 
harbor  masters  orders  which  greatly  annoyed  and 


MINISTER  TO  FRANCE  251 

surprised  the  American  captains,  "extraordinary'' 
orders,  as  these  somewhat  uninstructed  sea-dogs 
described  them  in  their  complaining  letters  to 
Franklin.  They  thought  it. an  outrage  that  the 
French  minister  should  refuse  to  have  English 
prizes  condemned  within  French  jurisdiction,  and 
that  he  should  not  allow  them  to  refit  and  to  take 
on  board  cannon  and  ammunition  at  Nantes  or 
Eochelle.  They  called  upon  Franklin  to  check 
these  intolerable  proceedings.  Their  audacious 
and  boundless  insolence  is  very  entertaining  to 
read,  especially  if,  in  connection  therewith,  we  call 
to  mind  the  history  of  the  "  Alabama  outrages." 

Franklin  knew,  just  as  well  as  de  Vergennes 
did,  that  the  French  ministry  was  all  the  time 
favoring  the  privateersmen  and  cruisers  far  be- 
yond the  law,  and  that  it  was  ready  to  resort  to 
as  many  devices  as  ingenuity  could  concoct  for 
that  purpose;  also  that  the  Americans  by  their 
behavior  persistently  violated  all  reason  and  neu- 
tral toleration.  Nevertheless  he  stood  gallantly 
by  his  own,  and  in  one  case  after  another  he  kept 
corresponding  with  de  Vergennes  under  pretense 
of  correcting  misrepresentations,  presenting  re- 
quests, and  arguing  points,  until,  by  the  time 
thus  gained,  the  end  was  achieved.  The  truth 
was  that  Franklin's  duty  was  to  get  from  France 
just  as  much  aid,  direct  and  indirect,  as  could  be 
either  begged  or  filched  from  her.  Such  orders 
could  not  be  written  down  in  plain  words  in  his 
instructions,  but  none  the  less  they  lurked  there 


252  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

not  illegible  to  him  among  the  lines.  He  obeyed 
them  diligently.     France  was  willing  to  go  fully 

N  as  far  as  she  could  with  safety;  his  function  was 
to  push,  to  pull,  to  entice,   even  to  mislead,   in 

/  order  to  make  her  go  farther.  Perhaps  it  was 
a  fair  game ;  France  had  her  interest  to  see  Great 
Britain  dismembered  and  weakened,  but  not  her- 
self to  fight  other  people's  battles;  the  colonies 
had  their  interest  to  get  France  into  the  fight  if 
they  possibly  could.  It  was  a  strictly  selfish  in- 
terest, and  was  pursued  almost  shamelessly.  The 
colonial  policy  and  the  details  of  its  execution 
are  defensible  simply  on  the  basis  that  nations  in 
their  dealings  with  each  other  are  always  utterly 
selfish  and  generally  utterly  unscrupulous.  By 
and  by,  when  it  conies  to  the  treating  for  peace 
between  England  and  the  colonies,  we  shall  find 
de  Vergennes  much  reviled  because  he  pursued 
exclusively  French  interests;  but  it  will  be  only 
fair  to  reflect  that  little  more  can  be  charged 
against  him  than  that  he  was  playing  the  game 
with  cards  drawn  from  the  same  pack  which  the 
Americans  had  used  in  these  earlier  days  of  the 
war. 

A  matter  which  grew  out  of  privateering  gave 
Franklin  much  trouble.  The  American  captains, 
who  were  cruising  on  the  European  side  of  the 
Atlantic  prior  to  the  treaty  of  alliance  with 
France,  had  no  place  in  which  to  deposit  their 
prisoners.     They  could  not  often  send  them  to  the 


MINISTER  TO  FRANCE  253 

States,  neither  of  course  could  they  accumulate 
them  on  board  their  ships,  nor  yet  store  them,  so 
to  speak,  in  France  and  Spain;  for  undeveloped 
as  were  the  rules  of  neutrality  they  at  least  for- 
bade the  use  of  neutral  prisons  for  the  keeping 
of  English  prisoners  of  war  in  time  of  peace. 
Meanwhile  the  colonial  captives,  in  confinement 
just  across  the  Channel,  in  the  prisons  at  Ply- 
mouth and  Portsmouth,  were  subjected  to  very 
harsh  treatment;  and  others  were  even  being  sent 
to  the  fort  of  Senegal  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  and 
to  the  East  Indies,  whence  they  could  not  hope 
ever  to  regain  their  homes.  Franklin  immediately 
resolved,  if  possible,  to  utilize  these  assets  in  the 
shape  of  English  sailors  in  the  usual  course  of 
exchange.  A  letter  was  accordingly  addressed 
by  him  to  Lord  Stormont,  asking  whether  it 
would  be  worth  while  to  approach  the  British 
court  with  an  offer  to  exchange  one  hundred  Eng- 
lish prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  captain  of  the 
Reprisal  for  a  like  number  of  American  sailors 
from  the  English  prisons.  The  note  was  a  simple 
interrogatory  in  proper  form  of  civility.  No  an- 
swer was  received.  After  a  while  a  second  letter 
was  prepared,  less  formal,  more  forcible  in  state- 
ment and  argument,  and  in  the  appeal  to  good 
sense  and  decent  good  feeling.  This  elicited  from 
his  lordship  a  brief  response:  "The  king's  ambas- 
sador receives  no  applications  from  rebels,  unless 
they  come  to  implore  his  majesty's  mercy."  The 
commissioners  indignantly  rejoined:    "In  answer 


254  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

to  a  letter  which  concerns  some  of  the  most  mate- 
rial interests  of  humanity,  and  of  the  two  nations, 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  of  America, 
now  at  war,  we  received  the  inclosed  indecent 
paper,  as  coming  from  your  lordship,  which  we 
return  for  your  lordship's  more  mature  considera- 
tion." 

The  technical  position  of  the  English  in  this 
business  was  that  the  captured  Americans  were 
not  prisoners  of  war,  but  traitors.  Their  practical 
position  was  that  captains  of  American  privateers, 
not  finding  it  a  physical  possibility  to  keep  their 
prisoners,  would  erelong  be  obliged  to  let  them  go 
without  exchange.  This  anticipation  turned  out  to 
be  correct,  and  so  far  justified  their  refusal;  for 
soon  some  five  hundred  English  sailors  got  their 
freedom  as  a  necessity,  without  any  compensatory 
freeing  of  Americans.  Each  of  them  gave  a  sol- 
emn promise  in  writing  to  obtain  the  release  of  an 
American  prisoner  in  return ;  but  he  had  as  much 
authority  to  hand  over  the  Tower  of  London, 
and  the  British  government  was  not  so  roman- 
tically chivalrous  as  to  recognize  pledges  entered 
into  by  foremast  hands. 

All  sorts  of  stories  continued  to  reach  Franklin's 
ears  as  to  the  cruelty  which  his  imprisoned  coun- 
trymen had  to  endure.  He  heard  that  they  were 
penniless  and  could  get  no  petty  comforts;  that 
they  suffered  from  cold  and  hunger,  and  were 
subjected  to  personal  indignities;  that  they  were 
not  allowed  to  read  a  newspaper  or  to  write  a 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  255 

letter;  that  they  were  all  committed  by  a  magis- 
trate on  a  charge  of  high  treason,  and  were  never 
allowed  to  forget  their  probable  fate  on  the  gibbet ; 
that  some  of  them,  as  has  been  said,  were  deported 
to  distant  and  unwholesome  English  possessions. 
For  the  truth  of  these  accounts  it  is  not  necessary 
to  believe  that  the  English  government  was  inten- 
tionally brutal ;  but  it  was  neglectful  and  indiffer- 
ent, and  those  who  had  prisoners  in  charge  felt 
assured  that  no  sympathy  for  rebels  would  induce 
an  investigation  into  peculations  or  unfeeling  be- 
havior. Moreover  there  was  a  deliberate  design, 
by  terror  and  discouragement,  to  break  the  spirit 
of  the  so-called  traitors  and  persuade  them  to  be- 
come real  traitors  by  entering  the  English  service. 
By  all  these  tales  Franklin's  zeal  in  the  matter 
of  exchange  was  greatly  stimulated.  His  humane 
soul  revolted  at  keeping  men  who  were  not  crimi- 
nals locked  up  in  wasting  misery,  when  they 
might  be  set  free  upon  terms  of  perfect  equality 
between  the  contending  parties.  Throughout  his 
correspondence  on  this  subject  there  is  a  magna- 
nimity, a  humanity,  a  spirit  of  honesty  and  even 
of  honor  so  extraordinary,  or  actually  unique,  in 
dealings  between  diplomats  and  nations,  that  the 
temptation  is  irresistible  to  give  a  fuller  narrative 
than  the  intrinsic  importance  of  the  subject  would 
warrant.  For  after  all  there  were  never  many 
English  prisoners  in  France  to  be  exchanged ;  after 
a  while  they  might  be  counted  by  hundreds,  but 
perhaps  they  never  rose  to  a  total  of  one  thousand. 


256  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

There  was  at  this  time  in  England  a  man  to 
whose  memory  Americans  ought  to  erect  statues. 
This  was  David  Hartley.  He  was  a  gentleman 
of  the  most  liberal  and  generous  sentiments,  an 
old  and  valued  friend  of  Franklin,  member  of 
Parliament  for  Hull,  allied  with  the  opposition  in 
this  matter  of  the  American  war,  but  personally 
on  good  terms  with  Lord  North.  He  had  not 
very  great  ability;  he  wrote  long  letters,  some- 
what surcharged  with  morality  and  good-feeling. 
One  would  expect  to  hear  that  he  was  on  terms  of 
admiring  intimacy  with  his  contemporary,  the 
good  Mrs.  Barbauld.  But  he  had  those  opportu- 
nities which  come  only  to  men  whose  excellence  of 
character  and  purity  of  motive  place  them  above 
suspicion,  —  opportunities  which  might  have  been 
shut  off  from  an  abler  man,  and  which  he  now 
used  with  untiring  zeal  and  much  efficiency  in 
behalf  of  the  American  prisoners.  Lord  North 
did  not  hesitate  to  permit  him  to  correspond  with 
Franklin,  and  he  long  acted  as  a  medium  of  com- 
munication more  serviceable  than  Lord  Stormont 
had  been.  Furthermore  Hartley  served  as  .al- 
moner to  the  poor  fellows,  and  pushed  a  private 
subscription  in  England  to  raise  funds  for  secur- 
ing to  them  reasonable  comforts.  There  were 
responsive  hearts  and  purses,  even  for  rebels, 
among  his  majesty's  subjects,  and  a  considerable 
sum  was  collected. 

Franklin's  first  letter  to  Hartley  on  this  sub- 
ject, October  14,  1777,  has  something  of  bitter- 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  257 

ness  in  its  tone,  with  much  deep  feeling  for  his 
countrymen,  whose  reputed  woes  he  narrates.  "I 
can  assure  you,"  he  adds,  "from  my  certain  know- 
ledge, that  your  people,  prisoners  in  America, 
have  been  treated  with  great  kindness,  having  had 
the  same  rations  of  wholesome  provisions  as  our 
own  troops,"  "comfortable  lodgings"  in  healthy 
villages,  with  liberty  "to  walk  and  amuse  them- 
selves on  their  parole."  "  Where  you  have  thought 
fit  to  employ  contractors  to  supply  your  people, 
these  contractors  have  been  protected  and  aided 
in  their  operations.  Some  considerable  act  of 
kindness  towards  our  people  would  take  off  the 
reproach  of  inhumanity  in  that  respect  from  the 
nation  and  leave  it  where  it  ought  with  more  cer- 
tainty to  lie,  on  the  conductors  of  your  war  in 
America.  This  I  hint  to  you  out  of  some  remain- 
ing good  will  to  a  nation  I  once  loved  sincerely. 
But  as  things  are,  and  in  my  present  temper  of 
mind,  not  being  over -fond  of  receiving  obligations, 
I  shall  content  myself  with  proposing  that  your 
government  should  allow  us  to  send  or  employ  a 
commissary  to  take  some  care  of  those  unfortunate 
people.  Perhaps  on  your  representations  this 
might  be  obtained  in  England,  though  it  was 
refused  most  inhumanly  at  New  York." 

In  December  following  he  had  arranged  with 
Major  Thornton,  "who  appears  a  man  of  human- 
ity," to  visit  the  prisons  and  give  relief  to  the 
prisoners,  and  he  hopes  that  Thornton  "may 
obtain  permission   for   that   purpose."     "I   have 


268  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

wished,"  he  added,  "that  some  voluntary  act  of 
compassion  on  the  part  of  your  government  to- 
wards those  in  your  power  had  appeared  in  abat- 
ing the  rigors  of  their  confinement,  and  relieving 
their  pressing  necessities,  as  such  generosity  to- 
wards enemies  has  naturally  an  effect  in  softening 
and  abating  animosity  in  their  compatriots,  and 
disposing  to  reconciliation."  Of  such  unconven- 
tional humanity  was  he ! 

Hartley  met  Franklin's  ardent  appeals  with 
responsive  ardor.  May  29,  1778,  he  writes  that 
he  will  press  the  point  of  exchange  as  much  as  he 
can,  "which  in  truth,"  he  says,  "I  have  done 
many  times  since  I  saw  you ;  but  official  depart- 
ments move  slowly  here.  A  promise  of  five 
months  is  yet  unperformed."  But  a  few  days 
later,  June  5,  he  is  "authorized"  to  propose  that 
Franklin  should  send  to  him  "the  number  and 
rank  of  the  prisoners,  upon  which  an  equal  num- 
ber shall  be  prepared  upon  this  side  for  the  ex- 
change." Franklin  at  once  demanded  lists  from 
his  captains,  and  replied  to  Hartley:  "We  desire 
and  expect  that  the  number  of  ours  shall  be  taken 
from  Forton  and  Plymouth,  in  proportion  to  the 
number  in  each  place,  and  to  consist  of  those  who 
have  been  longest  in  confinement."  He  then 
made  this  extraordinary  suggestion :  "  If  you  think 
proper  to  clear  all  your  prisoners  at  once,  and 
give  us  all  our  people,  we  give  you  our  solemn 
engagement,  which  we  are  sure  will  be  punctually 
executed,  to  deliver  to  Lord  Howe  in  America, 


MINISTER  TO  FRANCE  259 

or  to  his  order,  a  number  of  your  sailors  equal  to 
the  surplus,  as  soon  as  the  agreement  arrives 
there."  It  is  easy  to  fancy  a  British  minister 
thrusting  his  tongue  into  his  cheek  as  this  simple- 
minded  proposal  of  the  plain -dealing  colonist  was 
read  to  him.  The  only  occasion  on  which  Frank- 
lin showed  ignorance  of  diplomacy  was  in  assum- 
ing, in  this  matter  of  the  prisoners,  that  honesty 
and  honor  were  bases  of  dealing  between  public 
officials  in  international  matters. 

He  suggested  also  retaining  a  distinction  be- 
tween sailors  of  the  navy  and  of  the  commercial 
marine.  After  repeated  applications  to  the  Board 
of  Admiralty,  Hartley  was  only  able  to  reply  to 
all  Franklin's  proposals  that  no  distinction  could 
be  made  between  the  naval  and  merchant  services, 
because  all  the  Americans  were  "detained  under 
commitments  from  some  magistrate,  as  for  high 
treason." 

July  13,  1778,  Franklin  remitted  to  Hartley 
the  lists  of  English  prisoners.  September  14  he 
recurs  again  to  the  general  release:  "You  have 
not  mentioned  whether  the  proposition  of  sending 
us  the  whole  of  those  in  your  prisons  was  agreed 
to.  If  it  is,  you  may  rely  on  our  sending  imme- 
diately all  that  come  to  our  hands  for  the  future; 
or  we  will  give  you,  [at]  your  option,  an  order 
for  the  balance  to  be  delivered  to  your  fleet  in 
America.  By  putting  a  little  confidence  in  one 
another,  we  may  thus  diminish  the  miseries  of 
war."     Five  days  later  he  took  a  still  more  ro- 


260  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

mantic  position:  heretofore,  he  said,  the  Ameri- 
can commissioners  had  encouraged  and  aided  the 
American  prisoners  to  try  to  escape;  "but  if  the 
British  government  should  honorably  keep  their 
agreement  to  make  regular  exchanges,  we  shall 
not  think  it  consistent  with  the  honor  of  the 
United  States  to  encourage  such  escapes,  or  to 
give  any  assistance  to  such  as  shall  escape." 

Yet  at  the  same  time  he  showed  himself  fully 
able  to  conduct  business  according  to  the  usual 
commonplace  method.  This  same  letter  closes 
with  a  threat  under  the  lex  talionis:  "We  have 
now  obtained  permission  of  this  government  to 
put  all  British  prisoners,  whether  taken  by  conti- 
nental frigates  or  by  privateers,  into  the  king's 
prisons;  and  we  are  determined  to  treat  such 
prisoners  precisely  as  our  countrymen  are  treated 
in  England,  to  give  them  the  same  allowance  of 
provisions  and  accommodations,  and  no  other.'' 
He  was  long  obliged  to  reiterate  the  like  menaces.1 

October  20,  1778,  he  reverts  to  his  favorite 
project:  "I  wish  their  lordships  could  have  seen 
it  well  to  exchange  upon  account ;  but  though 
they  may  not  think  it  safe  trusting  to  us,  we  shall 
make  no  difficulty  in  trusting  to  them ; "  and  he 
proposes  that,  if  the  English  will  "send  us  over 
250  of  our  people,  we  will  deliver  all  we  have  in 
France  ;  "  if  these  be  less  than  two  hundred  and 
fifty,  the  English  may  take  back  the  surplus 
Americans;  but  if  these  be  more  than  two  hun- 

1  Hale's  Franklin  in  France,  i.  352. 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  261 

dred  and  fifty,  Franklin  says  that  he  will  never- 
theless deliver  them  all  in  expectation  that  he  will 
receive  back  an  equivalent  for  the  surplus.  "  We 
would  thus  wish  to  commence,  by  this  first  ad- 
vance, that  mutual  confidence  which  it  would  be 
for  the  good  of  mankind  that  nations  should  main- 
tain honorably  with  each  other,  tho'  engaged  in 
war." 

November  19,  1778,  nothing  has  been  achieved, 
and  he  gets  impatient:  "I  have  heard  nothing 
from  you  lately  concerning  the  exchange  of  the 
prisoners.  Is  that  affair  dropt?  Winter  is  com- 
ing on  apace."  January  25,  1779:  "I  a  long 
time  believed  that  your  government  were  in  earnest 
in  agreeing  to  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  I  begin 
now  to  think  I  was  mistaken.  It  seems  they  can- 
not give  up  the  pleasing  idea  of  having  at  the  end 
of  the  war  1000  Americans  to  hang  for  high 
treason."  Poor  Hartley  had  been  working  with 
all  the  energy  of  a  good  man  in  a  good  cause ;  but 
he  was  in  the  painful  position  of  having  no  excuse 
to  offer  for  the  backwardness  of  his  government. 

February  22,  1779,  brought  more  reproaches 
from  Franklin.  Months  had  elapsed  since  he  had 
heard  that  the  cartel  ship  was  prepared  to  cross 
the  Channel,  but  she  had  never  come.  He  feared 
that  he  had  been  "deceived  or  trifled  with,"  and 
proposed  sending  Edward  Bancroft  on  a  special 
mission  to  England,  if  a  safe  conduct  could  be 
procured.  At  last,  on  March  30,  Hartley  had 
the  pleasure  of  announcing  that  the  exchange  ship 


262  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

had  "sailed  the  25th  instant  from  Plymouth." 
Franklin  soon  replied  that  the  transaction  was 
completed,  and  gave  well-earned  thanks  to  Hart- 
ley for  his  "unwearied  pains  in  that  affair." 

Thus  after  infinite  difficulty  the  English  govern- 
ment had  been  pushed  into  conformity  with  the 
ordinary  customs  of  war  among  civilized  nations. 
Yet  subsequent  exchanges  seem  to  have  been 
effected  only  after  every  possible  obstacle  had 
been  contumaciously  thrown  in  the  way  by  the 
English  and  patiently  removed  by  Franklin.  The 
Americans  were  driven  to  various  devices.  The 
captains  sometimes  released  their  prisoners  at  sea 
upon  the  written  parole  of  each  either  to  secure 
the  return  of  an  American,  or  to  surrender  him- 
self to  Franklin  in  France.  In  November,  1781, 
Franklin  had  about  five  hundred  of  these  docu- 
ments, "not  one  of  which,"  he  says,  "has  been 
regarded,  so  little  faith  and  honor  remain  in  that 
corrupted  nation."  At  last,  after  France  and 
Spain  had  joined  in  the  war,  Franklin  arranged 
that  the  American  captors  might  lodge  their  pri- 
soners in  French  and  Spanish  prisons. 

Under  flags  of  truce  two  cargoes  of  English 
sailors  were  dispatched  from  Boston  to  England ; 
but  the  English  refused  to  reciprocate.  "There 
is  no  getting  anything  from  these  barbarians," 
said  Franklin,  "by  advances  of  civility  or  hu- 
manity." Then  much  trouble  arose  because  the 
French  borrowed  from  Franklin  some  English  pri- 
soners for  exchange  in  Holland,  and  returned  to 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  263 

him  a  like  number  a  little  too  late  for  delivery 
on  board  the  cartel  ship,  which  had  brought  over 
one  hundred  Americans.  Thereupon  the  English- 
men charged  Franklin  with  "breach  of  faith,'' 
and  with  "deceiving  the  Board,"  and  put  a  stop 
to  further  exchanging.  This  matter  was,  of 
course,  set  right  in  time.  But  the  next  point 
made  by  the  admiralty  was  that  they  would  make 
no  exchanges  with  Franklin  except  for  English 
sailors  taken  by  American  cruisers,  thus  excluding 
captives  taken  by  the  privateersmen.  Franklin, 
much  angered  at  the  thwarting  of  his  humane  and 
reasonable  scheme,  said  that  they  had  "given  up 
all  pretensions  to  equity  and  honor."  In  his  dis- 
appointment he  went  a  little  too  far;  if  he  had 
said  "liberality  and  humanity"  instead  of  "equity 
and  honor "  he  would  have  kept  within  literal 
truth.  To  meet  this  last  action  on  the  part  of 
England  he  suggested  to  Congress:  "Whether  it 
may  not  be  well  to  set  apart  500  or  600  English 
prisoners,  and  refuse  them  all  exchange  in  Amer- 
ica, but  for  our  countrymen  now  confined  in  Eng- 
land?" 

Another  thing  which  vexed  him  later  was  that 
the  English  government  would  not  give  the  Amer- 
icans an  "equal  allowance"  with  the  French  and 
Spanish  prisoners.  He  suggested  retaliation  upon 
a  certain  number  of  English  prisoners  in  America. 
He  himself  was  constantly  remitting  money  to  be 
distributed  to  the  American  prisoners,  at  the  rate 
of  one  shilling  apiece  each  week.     But  he  had  the 


264  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

pain  to  hear  that  the  wretched  fellow,  one  Digges, 
to  whom  he  sent  the  funds,  embezzled  much  of 
them.  "If  such  a  fellow  is  not  damned,"  he  said, 
"it  is  not  worth  while  to  keep  a  devil."  One 
prisoner  of  distinction,  Colonel  Laurens,  captured 
on  his  way  to  France,  complained  that  Franklin 
did  not  show  sufficient  zeal  in  his  behalf.  But  he 
made  the  assertion  in  ignorance  of  Franklin's 
efforts,  which  for  a  long  while  Franklin  had  reason 
to  believe  had  been  successful  in  securing  kind 
and  liberal  treatment  for  this  captive. 

In  all  this  business  Franklin  ought  to  have 
received  efficient  assistance  from  Thomas  Morris, 
who  held  the  position  of  commercial  agent  for  the 
States  at  Nantes,  and  who  might  properly  have 
extended  his  functions  to  include  so  much  of  the 
naval  business  as  required  personal  attention  at 
that  port.  But  he  turned  out  to  be  a  drunken 
rascal,  active  only  in  mischief.  Thereupon,  early 
in  1777,  Franklin  employed  a  nephew  of  his  own 
from  Boston,  Jonathan  Williams,  not  to  supersede 
Morris  in  the  commercial  department,  but  to  take 
charge  of  the  strictly  naval  affairs,  which  were 
construed  to  include  all  matters  pertaining  to  war- 
ships, privateers,  and  prizes.  This  action  became 
the  source  of  much  trouble.  It  was  a  case  of 
nepotism,  of  course,  which  was  unfortunate;  yet 
there  was  an  absolute  necessity  to  engage  some 
one  for  these  duties,  and  there  was  scant  oppor- 
tunity for  choice.  During  the  year  that  Williams 
held  the  office  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that 


MINISTER  TO   FRANCE  265 

he  did  not  prove  himself  both  efficient  and  honest. 
Robert  Morris,  however,  whose  brother  Thomas 
was,  and  who  had  obtained  for  him  the  commercial 
office,  was  much  offended,  and  it  was  not  until  in 
the  course  of  time  he  received  masses  of  indispu- 
table evidence  of  his  brother's  worthlessness,  that 
he  was  placated.  Then  at  length  he  wrote  a 
frank,  pathetic  letter,  in  which  he  acknowledged 
that  he  had  been  misled  by  natural  affection,  and 
that  his  resentment  had  been  a  mistake. 

Arthur  Lee  also  poured  the  destructive  torrent 
of  his  malignant  wrath  over  the  ill-starred  Wil- 
liams. For  William  Lee  pretended  to  find  his 
province  and  his  profits  also  trenched  upon.  The 
facts  were  that  he  was  appointed  to  the  commer- 
cial agency  jointly  with  Thomas  Morris;  but 
shortly  afterward  he  was  promoted  to  the  diplo- 
matic service,  and  left  Nantes  for  a  permanent 
stay  in  Paris.  He  did  not  formally  vacate  his 
agency,  but  practically  he  abandoned  it  by  ren- 
dering himself  unable  to  attend  to  its  duties.  So 
even  if  by  any  construction  he  could  have  estab- 
lished a  show  of  right  to  conduct  the  naval  busi- 
ness, at  least  he  never  was  on  hand  to  do  so. 
These  considerations,  however,  did  not  in  the 
least  mitigate  the  rage  of  the  Lee  brethren,  who 
now  brought  a  great  variety  of  charges.  Frank- 
lin, they  said,  had  no  authority  to  make  the 
appointment,  and  Williams  was  a  knave  engaged 
in  a  scandalous  partnership  with  Deane  to  make 
money    dishonestly   out   of    the   public   business, 


266  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

especially  the  prizes.  The  quarrel  continued  un- 
abated when  John  Adams  arrived,  in  1778,  as 
joint  commissioner  with  Franklin  and  Arthur  Lee. 
At  once  the  active  Lee  besieged  the  ear  of  the 
newcomer  with  all  his  criminations;  and  he  must 
have  found  a  ready  listener,  for  so  soon  as  the 
fourth  day  after  his  arrival  Adams  felt  himself 
sufficiently  informed  to  take  what  was  practically 
judicial  action  in  the  matter.  He  declared  upon 
Lee's  side.  The  two  then  signed  an  order  for 
Williams's  dismissal,  and  presented  it  to  Frank- 
lin. It  was  discourteous  if  not  insulting  behavior 
to  an  old  man  and  the  senior  commissioner;  but 
Franklin  wisely  said  not  a  word,  and  added  his 
signature  to  those  of  his  colleagues.  The  rest  of 
the  story  is  the  familiar  one  of  many  cases:  the 
agent  made  repeated  demands  for  the  appointment 
of  an  accountant  to  examine  his  accounts,  and 
Franklin  often  and  very  urgently  preferred  the 
same  request.  But  the  busy  Congress  would  not 
bother  itself  ever  so  little  with  a  matter  no  longer 
of  any  practical  moment.  Lee's  charges  remained 
unrefuted,  though  not  a  shadow  of  justifiable  sus- 
picion rested  upon  Franklin's  unfortunate  nephew. 


CHAPTER   XI 

MINISTER   TO   FRANCE,    III 
TREATY   WITH   FRANCE:   MORE   QUARRELS 

The  enthusiastic  reception  of  Franklin  in  France 
was  responded  to  by  him  with  a  bearing  so  cheer- 
ful and  words  so  encouraging  that  all  the  auguries 
for  America  seemed  for  a  while  of  the  best.  For 
he  was  sanguine  by  nature,  by  resolution,  and  by 
policy ;  and  his  way  of  alluring  good  fortune  was 
to  welcome  it  in  advance.  But  in  fact  there  were 
clouds  enough  floating  in  the  sky,  and  soon  they 
expanded  and  obscured  the  transitory  brightness. 
Communication  between  the  two  continents  was 
extremely  slow;  throughout  the  war  intervals  oc- 
curred when  for  long  and  weary  months  no  more 
trustworthy  news  reached  Paris  than  the  rumors 
which  got  their  coloring  by  filtration  through 
Great  Britain.  Thus  in  the  dread  year  of  1777, 
there  traveled  across  the  Channel  tales  that  Wash- 
ington was  conducting  the  remnant  of  his  forces 
in  a  demoralized  retreat;  that  Philadelphia  had 
fallen  before  Howe;  that  Burgoyne,  with  a  fine 
army,  was  moving  to  bisect  the  insurgent  colonies 
from  the  north.  It  was  very  well  for  Franklin, 
when  told  that  Howe  had  taken  Philadelphia,  to 


268  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

reply:  "No,  sir:  Philadelphia  has  taken  Howe." 
The  jest  may  have  relieved  the  stress  of  his  mind, 
as  President  Lincoln  used  often  to  relieve  his  own 
over-taxed  endurance  in  the  same  way.  But  the 
undeniable  truth  was  that  it  looked  much  as  if 
the  affair,  to  use  Franklin's  words,  would  prove  to 
be  a  "rebellion"  and  not  a  "revolution."  Still, 
any  misgivings  which  he  may  have  inwardly  felt 
found  no  expression,  and  to  no  one  would  he  ad- 
mit the  possibility  of  such  an  ultimate  outcome. 
Late  in  the  autumn  of  this  dismal  year  he  wrote :  — 

"  You  desire  to  know  my  opinion  of  what  will  prob- 
ably be  the  end  of  this  war,  and  whether  our  new  estab- 
lishments will  not  be  thereby  again  reduced  to  deserts. 
I  do  not,  for  my  part,  apprehend  much  danger  of  so 
great  an  evil  to  us.  I  think  we  shall  be  able,  with  a 
little  help,  to  defend  ourselves,  our  possessions,  and  our 
liberties  so  long  that  England  will  be  ruined  by  persist- 
ing in  the  wicked  attempt  to  destroy  them.  .  .  .  And  I 
sometimes  flatter  myself  that,  old  as  I  am,  I  may  possi- 
bly live  to  see  my  country  settled  in  peace,  when  Britain 
shall  make  no  more  a  formidable  figure  among  the 
powers  of  Europe." 

But  though  Franklin  might  thus  refuse  to  de- 
spair for  his  country,  the  French  ministry  were 
not  to  be  blamed  if  they  betrayed  an  increased 
reserve  in  their  communications  with  men  who 
might  soon  prove  to  be  traitors  instead  of  ambassa- 
dors, and  if  they  were  careful  to  stop  short  of 
actually  bringing  on  a  war  with  England.  It 
was  an  anxious  period  for  Franklin  when  the  days 


TREATY  WITH  FRANCE        269 

wore  slowly  into  months  and  the  months  length- 
ened almost  into  a  year,  during  which  he  had  no 
trustworthy  information  as  to  all  the  ominous  news 
which  the  English  papers  and  letters  brought. 

In  this  crisis  of  military  affairs  the  anxious 
envoys  felt  that  the  awful  burden  of  their  coun- 
try^ salvation  not  improbably  rested  upon  them. 
If  they  could  induce  France  to  come  to  the  rescue, 
all  would  be  well;  if  they  could  not,  the  worst 
might  be  feared.  Yet  in  this  mortal  jeopardy 
they  saw  France  growing  more  guarded  in  her 
conduct,  while  in  vain  they  asked  themselves,  in 
an  agony,  what  influence  it  was  possible  for  them 
to  exert.  At  the  close  of  November,  1777,  they 
conferred  upon  the  matter.  Mr.  Deane  was  in 
favor  of  demanding  from  the  French  court  a  direct 
answer  to  the  question,  whether  or  not  France 
would  come  openly  to  the  aid  of  the  colonies ;  and 
he  advised  that  de  Vergennes  should  be  distinctly 
told  that,  if  France  should  decline,  the  colonies 
would  be  obliged  to  seek  an  accommodation  with 
Great  Britain.  But  Dr.  Franklin  strenuously 
opposed  this  course.  The  effect  of  such  a  de- 
claration seemed  to  him  too  uncertain  ;  France 
might  take  it  as  a  menace;  she  might  be  in- 
duced by  it  to  throw  over  the  colonies  altogether, 
in  despair  or  anger.  Neither  would  he  admit 
that  the  case  was  in  fact  so  desperate;  the  colonies 
might  yet  work  out  their  own  safety,  with  the 
advantage  in  that  event  of  remaining  more  free 
from  any  European  influence.     The  soundness  of 


270  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

this  latter  argument  was  afterward  abundantly- 
shown  by  the  history  of  the  country  during  the  first 
three  administrations.  Fortunately  upon  this  oc- 
casion Lee  sided  with  Franklin,  and  the  untimely 
trial  of  French  friendship  was  not  made.  Had  it 
been,  it  would  have  been  more  likely  to  jeopardize 
forever  than  to  precipitate  the  good  fortune  which, 
though  still  invisible,  was  close  at  hand. 

It  was  not  until  December  4,  1777,  that  there 
broke  a  great  and  sudden  rift  in  the  solid  cloudi- 
ness. First  there  came  a  vague  rumor  of  good 
news,  no  one  at  all  knew  what;  then  a  post-chaise 
drove  into  Dr.  Franklin's  courtyard,  and  from  it 
hastily  alighted  the  young  messenger,  Jonathan 
Loring  Austin,  whom  Congress  had  sent  express 
from  Philadelphia,  and  who  had  accomplished 
an  extraordinarily  rapid  journey.  The  American 
group  of  envoys  and  agents  were  all  there,  gath- 
ered by  the  mysterious  report  which  had  reached 
them,  and  at  the  sound  of  the  wheels  they  ran  out 
into  the  courtyard  and  eagerly  surrounded  the 
chaise.  "Sir,"  exclaimed  Franklin,  "is  Philadel- 
phia taken?"  "Yes,  sir,"  replied  Austin;  and 
Franklin  clasped  his  hands  and  turned  to  reenter 
the  house.  But  Austin  cried  that  he  bore  greater 
news :  that  General  Burgoyne  and  his  whole  army 
were  prisoners  of  war !  At  the  words  the  glorious 
sunshine  burst  forth.  Beaumarchais,  the  ecstatic, 
sprang  into  his  carriage  and  drove  madly  for  the 
city  to  spread  the  story;  but  he  upset  his  vehicle 
and  dislocated  his  arm.     The  envoys  hastily  read 


TREATY   WITH   FRANCE  271 

and  wrote;  in  a  few  hours  Austin  was  again  on 
the  road,  this  time  bound  to  de  Vergennes  at 
Versailles,  to  tell  the  great  tidings.  Soon  all 
Paris  got  the  news  and  burst  into  triumphant 
rejoicing  over  the  disaster  to  England. 

Austin's  next  errand  was  a  secret  and  singular 
one.  Franklin  managed  throughout  his  residence 
in  France  to  maintain  a  constant  communication 
with  the  opposition  party  in  England.  He  now 
thought  it  wise  to  enable  them  to  obtain  full  infor- 
mation from  an  intelligent  man  who  was  not  many 
weeks  absent  from  the  States.  Accordingly  he 
dispatched  Austin,  using  extreme  precautions  of 
secrecy,  making  him  "burn  every  letter  which  he 
had  brought  from  his  friends  in  America,"  but 
giving  him  in  exchange  two  other  letters,  which 
certainly  introduced  him  to  strange  society  for  an 
American  "rebel"  to  frequent.  During  his  visit 
he  was  "domesticated  in  the  family  of  the  Earl  of  j 
Shelburne ;  placed  under  the  particular  protection/ 
of  his  chaplain,  the  celebrated  Dr.  Priestley;  in- 
troduced" to  George  IV.,  then  Prince  of  Wales, 
with  whom  was  Charles  Fox,  and  was  "present  at 
all  the  coteries  of  the  opposition."  Almost  every 
evening  he  was  invited  to  dinner-parties,  at  which 
the  company  was  chiefly  composed  of  members  of 
Parliament,  and  they  plied  him  with  interroga- 
tions about  his  country  and  its  affairs,  so  that,  as 
he  reported,  "no  question  which  you  can  conceive 
is   omitted."1     He  answered  well,   and  rendered 

1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  ii.  307. 


272  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

service  as  good  as  it  was  singular,  for  which 
Franklin  was  probably  the  only  American  who 
could  have  furnished  the  opening.  The  adventure 
brings  to  mind  some  of  the  Jacobite  tales  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott's  novels. 

One  half  of  the  advantages  accruing  from  "  Gen- 
eral Burgoyne's  capitulation  to  Mr.  Gates "  — 
such  was  the  Tory  euphemism,  somewhat  ill  con- 
sidered, since  it  implied  that  the  gallant  Brit- 
ish commander  had  capitulated  to  a  civilian  —  was 
to  be  reaped  in  Europe.  The  excellent  Hartley 
was  already  benevolently  dreaming  of  effecting  an 
accommodation  between  the  two  contestants;  and 
seeing  clearly  that  an  alliance  with  France  must 
be  fatal  to  any  such  project,  he  closed  a  letter  on 
February  3,  1778,  to  Franklin,  by  "subjoining 
one  earnest  caution  and  request :  Let  nothing  ever 
persuade  America  to  throw  themselves  into  the 
arms  of  France.  Times  may  mend.  I  hope  they 
will.  An  American  must  always  be  a  stranger  in 
France;  Great  Britain  may  for  ages  to  come  be 
their  home."  This  was  as  kindly  in  intention  as 
it  was  bad  in  grammatical  construction;  but  it 
was  written  from  a  point  of  view  very  different 
from  that  which  an  American  could  adopt.  Frank- 
lin promptly  replied :  "  When  your  nation  is  hiring 
all  the  cut-throats  it  can  collect,  of  all  countries 
and  colors,  to  destroy  us,  it  is  hard  to  persuade  us 
not  to  ask  or  accept  aid  from  any  power  that  may 
be  prevailed  with  to  grant  it;  and  this  only  from 
the  hope  that,  though  you  now  thirst  for  our  blood, 


TREATY  WITH  FRANCE        273 

and  pursue  us  with  fire  and  sword,  you  may  in 
some  future  time  treat  us  kindly.  This  is  too 
much  patience  to  be  expected  of  us;  indeed,  I 
think  it  is  not  in  human  nature." 

A  few  days  later  he  transposed  Hartley's  advice, 
not  without  irony :  "  Let  nothing  induce  [the  Eng- 
lish Whigs]  to  join  with  the  Tories  in  supporting 
and  continuing  this  wicked  war  against  the  Whigs 
of  America,  whose  assistance  they  may  hereafter 
want  to  secure  their  own  liberties,  or  whose  coun- 
try they  may  be  glad  to  retire  to  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  them."  Hartley  must  have  had  a  mar- 
velous good  temper,  if  he  read  without  resentment 
the  very  blunt  and  severe  replies  which  Franklin 
a  little  mercilessly  made  to  the  other's  ever  tem- 
perate and  amiable  letters. 

Hartley's  advice,  if  not  acceptable,  was  at  least 
timely.  At  the  very  moment  when  he  warned 
America  against  taking  refuge  in  the  arms  of 
France,  the  colonists  were  joyously  springing  into 
that  international  embrace.  The  victory  at  Sara- 
toga had  at  last  settled  that  matter.  On  Decem- 
ber 6,  1777,  two  days  after  the  news  was  received,\ 
M.  Gerard  called  upon  the  envoys  and  said  that 
the  capacity  of  the  colonies  to  maintain  their  in-\ 
dependence  could  no  longer  be  doubted,  and  that 
the  French  court  would  be  pleased  by  a  renewal 
of  their  proposals  for  an  alliance.  On  December  8 
a  request  for  an  alliance  was  placed  by  young 
Temple  Franklin  in  the  hands  of  de  Vergennes. 
On  December  12  the  cabinet    met;   also    Arthur 


274  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

Lee  reports  that  the  envoys  went  out  to  Versailles 
and  concealed  themselves  at  an  appointed  spot  in 
the  wood,  whither  soon  came  to  them  de  Ver- 
gennes.  In  the  talk  that  ensued  he  said  to  them 
everything  which  a  liberal  spirit  of  friendship 
could  suggest,  but  nothing  which  was  actually 
positive  and  binding.  For  it  was  necessary,  as 
he  explained,  first  to  consult  with  Spain,  whose 
concurrence  was  desired;  this,  however,  could  be 
safely  counted  upon,  and  a  courier  was  to  be  dis- 
patched at  once  to  Madrid.  But  the  return  of 
this  messenger  was  not  awaited;  for  on  Decem- 
ber 17  the  commissioners  were  formally  notified 
that  France  would  acknowledge  the  independence 
of  the  colonies,  and  would  execute  with  them  trea- 
ties of  commerce  and  alliance  immediately  upon 
getting  the  Spanish  reply.  In  return  for  her 
engagements  France  only  asked  that,  in  the  prob- 
able event  of  a  war  ensuing  between  herself  and 
England,  the  colonies  would  pledge  themselves 
never  to  make  peace  save  upon  the  terms  of  inde- 
pendence. 

On  January  8,  1778,  M.  Gerard  met  the  envoys 
after  dark  at  Mr.  Deane's  quarters.  He  informed 
them  that  the  government  had  resolved  immedi- 
ately to  conclude  with  the  colonies  a  treaty  of  amity 
and  commerce;  also  another  treaty,  offensive 
and  defensive,  and  guaranteeing  independence, 
upon  the  conditions  that  the  colonies  would  neither 
make  a  separate  peace,  nor  one  relinquishing  their 
independence.     The  independence  of  the  thirteen 


TREATY   WITH   FRANCE  275 

colonies  being  the  king's  sole  purpose,  no  assist- 
ance would  be  extended  for  subduing  Canada  or 
the  English  West  Indies.  As  it  would  probably 
not  be  agreeable  to  the  colonies  to  have  foreign 
troops  in  their  country,  the  design  was  to  furnish 
only  naval  aid.  It  would  be  left  open  for  Spain 
to  accede  to  the  treaties  at  any  time.  Nothing 
could  have  been  more  agreeable  and  encouraging 
than  these  arrangements,  by  which  France  did  all 
the  giving  and  America  all  the  receiving.  A  few 
days  later  Gerard  said  that  the  king  would  not 
only  acknowledge,  but  would  support  American 
independence,  and  that  the  condition  precluding 
the  Americans  from  making  a  separate  peace,  if 
France  should  be  drawn  into  the  war,  would  be 
waived. 

On  January  18  Gerard  came  to  the  envoys 
with  drafts  which  he  had  prepared  for  the  two 
treaties,  and  which  he  left  for  them  to  consider  at 
their  leisure.  It  took  them  much  longer  to  con- 
sider than  it  had  taken  him  to  devise  these  docu- 
ments. Lee  said  that  the  delay  was  all  Franklin's 
fault;  but  at  least  Franklin  illumined  it  by  one 
of  his  mots.  There  was  sent  to  the  envoys  a  large 
cake  inscribed:  "Le  digne  Franklin."  Deane 
said  that,  with  thanks,  they  would  appropriate  it 
to  their  joint  use;  Franklin  pleasantly  replied  that 
it  was  obviously  intended  for  all  three,  only  the 
French  donor  did  not  know  how  to  spell  "Lee, 
Deane,  Franklin "  correctly.  But  the  uneasy 
jealousy   of   Lee    suggested   a   counter-argument: 


276  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

"When  they  remember  us,"  L  e.,  himself  and 
Deane,  he  said,  "they  always  put  you  first."  Lee, 
who  in  his  lifetime  could  never  endure  being  sec- 
ond to  Franklin,  must  be  astounded  indeed  if,  in 
another  existence,  he  sees  the  place  which  judicial 
posterity  has  assigned  to  him ! 

In  their  discussions  concerning  the  treaty  the 
commissioners  fell  into  a  contention  over  one  arti- 
cle. Their  secret  instructions  directed  them  to 
"press"  for  a  stipulation  that  no  export  duties 
should  be  imposed  by  France  upon  molasses  taken 
from  the  French  West  Indies  into  the  States; 
but  they  were  not  to  let  the  "fate  of  the  treaty 
depend  upon  obtaining  it."  Of  all  merchandise 
imported  into  the  States  molasses  was  the  most 
important  to  their  general  trade;  it  was  the  "basis 
on  which  a  very  great  part  of  the  American  com- 
merce rested."1  In  exchange  for  it  they  sent  to 
the  islands  considerable  quantities  of  pretty  much 
all  their  products,  and  they  distilled  it  in  enor- 
mous quantities  into  rum.  Every  man  who  drank 
a  glass  of  rum  seemed  to  be  advancing  pro  tanto 
the  national  prosperity,  and  the  zeal  with  which 
those  godly  forefathers  of  ours  thus  promoted  the 
general  welfare  is  feebly  appreciated  by  their  de- 
scendants. All  this  rum,  said  John  Adams,  has 
"injured  our  health  and  our  morals;"  but  "the 
taste  for  rum  will  continue;"  and  upon  this  con- 
viction the  commissioners  felt  obliged  to  act.  Ac- 
cordingly they  proposed  that  it  should  be  "agreed 

1  Diplomatic  Correspondence  of  the  Amer.  Rev.  i.  156. 


TREATY   WITH   FRANCE  277 

and  concluded  that ,  there  shall  never  be  any  duty 
imposed  on  the  exportation  of  molasses  that  may 
be  taken  by  the  subjects  of  the  United  States 
from  the  islands  of  America  which  belong  or  may 
hereafter  appertain  to  his  most  Christian  majesty." 
But  Gerard  said  that  this  was  "unequal,"  since 
the  States  made  no  balancing  concession.  It  was 
not  easy  to  suggest  any  "concession  of  equal  im- 
portance on  the  part  of  the  United  States,"  and 
so  "after  long  consideration  Dr.  Franklin  pro- 
posed "this:  "In  compensation  of  the  exemption 
stipulated  in  the  preceding  article,  it  is  agreed 
and  concluded  that  there  shall  never  be  any  duties 
imposed  on  the  exportation  of  any  kind  of  mer- 
chandise, which  the  subjects  of  his  most  Christian 
majesty  may  take  from  the  countries  and  posses- 
sions, present  or  future,  of  any  of  the  thirteen 
United  States,  for  the  use  of  the  islands  which 
shall  furnish  molasses." 

This  pleased  Lee  as  little  as  the  other  article 
had  pleased  Gerard;  for  it  was  "too  extensive, 
and  more  than  equivalent  for  molasses  only." 
He  was  answered  that  "it  was  in  reality  nothing 
more  than  giving  up  what  we  could  never  make 
use  of  but  to  our  own  prejudice ;  for  nothing  was 
more  evident  than  the  bad  policy  of  laying  duties 
on  our  own  exports."  Franklin  was  of  opinion 
that  export  duties  were  "a  knavish  attempt  to  get 
something  for  nothing;  "  that  the  inventor  of 
them  had  the  "genius  of  a  pickpocket."  Britain 
had  lost  her  colonies  by  an  export  duty  on  tea. 


278  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

Moreover  since  the  States  produced  no  commodity 
which  could  not  be  procured  elsewhere,  to  discour- 
age consumption  of  their  own  and  encourage  the 
rivalship  of  others  would  be  an  "absolute  folly" 
against  which  he  would  protest  even  if  practiced 
by  way  of  reprisal.  Gerard  finally  said  that  he 
regarded  these  articles  as  "reciprocal  and  equal," 
that  his  majesty  was  "indifferent"  about  them, 
and  that  they  might  be  retained  or  rejected  to- 
gether, but  that  one  could  not  be  kept  without 
the  other.  Lee  then  yielded,  and  Gerard  was 
notified  that  both  articles  would  be  inserted.  He 
assented.  Soon,  however,  William  Lee  and  Izard, 
being  informed  of  the  arrangement,  took  Arthur 
Lee's  original  view  and  protested  against  it.  Lee 
reports  that  this  interference  put  Franklin  "much 
out  of  humor,"  and  that  he  said  it  would  "appear 
an  act  of  levity  to  renew  the  discussion  of  a  thing 
we  had  agreed  to."  None  the  less,  Lee  now  re- 
sumed his  first  position  so  firmly  that  Franklin 
and  Deane  in  their  turn  agreed  to  omit  both  ar- 
ticles. But  they  stipulated  that  Lee  should  arrange 
the  matter  with  Gerard,  since,  as  they  had  just 
agreed  in  writing  to  retain  both,  they  "could  not 
with  any  consistency  make  a  point  of  their  being 
expunged,"  and  they  felt  that  the  business  of  a 
change  at  this  stage  might  be  disagreeable.  In 
fact  Lee  found  it  so.  When  he  called  on  Gerard 
and  requested  the  omission  of  both,  Gerard  replied 
that  the  king  had  already  approved  the  treaty, 
that  it  was  now  engrossed  on  parchment,  and  that 


TREATY  WITH  FRANCE  279 

a  new  arrangement  would  entail  "inconvenience 
and  considerable  delay."  But  finally,  not  without 
showing  some  irritation  at  the  fickleness  of  the 
commissioners,  he  was  brought  to  agree  that  Con- 
gress might  ratify  the  treaty  either  with  or  with- 
out these  articles,  as  it  should  see  fit.  This  busi- 
ness cost  Franklin,  as  an  annoying  incident,  an 
encounter  with  Mr.  Izard,  and  a  tart  correspond- 
ence ensued. 

On  February  6  all  was  at  length  ready  and 
the  parties  came  together,  M.  Gerard  for  France 
and  the  envoys  for  the  States,  to  execute  these 
most  important  documents.  Franklin  wore  the 
spotted  velvet  suit  of  privy  council  fame.  They 
signed  a  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce,  a  treaty 
of  alliance,  and  a  secret  article  belonging  with 
the  latter  providing  that  Spain  might  become  a 
party  to  it  —  on  the  Spanish  manana.  There 
was  an  express  stipulation  on  the  part  of  France 
that  the  whole  should  be  kept  secret  until  after 
ratification  by  Congress ;  for  there  was  a  singular 
apprehension  that  in  the  interval  some  accommo- 
dation might  be  brought  about  between  the  insur- 
gent States  and  the  mother  country,  which  would 
leave  France  in  a  very  embarrassing  position  if 
she  should  not  be  free  to  deny  the  existence  of 
such  treaties.  It  was  undoubtedly  a  dread  of 
some  such  occurrence  which  had  induced  the  promp- 
titude and  the  ever-increasing  liberality  in  terms 
which  France  had  shown  from  the  moment  when 
the  news  of  Saratoga  arrived.     Nor  perhaps  was 


280  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

her  anxiety  so  utterly  absurd  as  it  now  seems. 
There  was  some  foundation  for  Gibbon's  epigram- 
matic statement  that  "the  two  greatest  nations  in 
Europe  were  fairly  running  a  race  for  the  favor 
of  America."  For  the  disaster  to  the  army  on 
the  Hudson  had  had  an  effect  in  England  even 
greater  than  it  had  had  in  France,  and  Burgoyne's 
capitulation  to  "Mr.  Gates  "  had  very  nearly 
brought  on  a  capitulation  of  Lord  North's  cabinet 
to  the  insurgent  Congress.  On  February  17  that 
minister  rose,  and  in  a  speech  of  two  hours  intro- 
duced two  conciliatory  bills.  The  one  declared 
that  Parliament  had  no  intention  of  exercising 
the  right  of  taxing  the  colonies  in  America.  The 
other  authorized  sending  to  the  States  commis- 
sioners empowered  to  "treat  with  Congress,  with 
provincial  assemblies,  or  with  Washington;  to 
order  a  truce ;  to  suspend  all  laws ;  to  grant  par- 
dons and  rewards;  to  restore  the  form  of  con- 
stitution as  it  stood  before  the  troubles."1  The 
prime  minister  substantially  acknowledged  that 
England's  course  toward  her  colonies  had  been 
one  prolonged  blunder,  and  now  she  was  willing  to 
concede  every  demand  save  actual  independence. 
The  war  might  be  continued,  as  it  was ;  but  such 
a  confession  could  never  be  retracted.  "A  dull 
melancholy  silence  for  some  time  succeeded  to  this 
speech.  .  .  .  Astonishment,  dejection,  and  fear 
overclouded  the  assembly." 

But   a   fresh  sensation  was  at  hand.     Horace 
1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  8.  ix.  484. 


TREATY  WITH  FRANCE  281 

and  Thomas  Walpole  had  obtained  private  infor- 
mation of  what  had  taken  place  in  France ;  but 
had  cautiously  held  it  in  reserve,  and  arranged 
that  only  two  hours  before  the  meeting  of  the 
House  of  Commons  on  that  eventful  day  the  Duke 
of  Grafton  should  tell  it  to  Charles  Fox.  So  now 
when  North  sat  down  Fox  rose,  indulged  in  a 
little  sarcasm  on  the  conversion  of  the  ministry  to 
the  views  of  the  opposition,  and  then  asked  his 
lordship  "Whether  a  commercial  treaty  with 
France  had  not  been  signed  by  the  American 
agents  at  Paris  within  the  last  ten  days?  'If  so,' 
he  said,  '  the  administration  is  beaten  by  ten  days, 
a  situation  so  threatening  that  in  such  a  time  of 
danger  the  House  must  concur  with  the  proposi- 
tions, though  probably  now  they  would  have  no 
eif ect. '  Lord  North  was  thunderstruck  and  would 
not  rise."  But  at  last,  warned  that  it  would  be 
"criminal  and  a  matter  of  impeachment  to  with- 
hold an  answer,"  he  admitted  that  he  had  heard 
a  rumor  of  the  signature  of  such  a  treaty.1  So 
the  bills  were  passed  too  late. 

So  soon  as  their  passage  was  assured,  Hartley, 
"acting  on  an  understanding  with  Lord  North,"2 
dispatched  copies  to  Franklin.  Franklin  upon 
his  part,  also  first  having  an  understanding  with 
de  Vergennes,  replied  that,  if  peace  with  the  States 
upon  equal  terms  were  really  desired,  the  commis- 

1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  ii.  309. 

2  Bancroft,  Hist.   U.  S.  ix.  485 ;  Hale's  Franklin  in  France, 
i.  223. 


282  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

sioners  need  not  journey  to  America  for  it,  for 
"if  wise  and  honest  men,  such  as  Sir  George 
Saville,  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  and  yourself 
were  to  come  over  here  immediately  with  powers 
to  treat,  you  might  not  only  obtain  peace  with 
America  but  prevent  a  war  with  France."  About 
the  same  time  also  Hartley  visited  Franklin  in 
person;  but  nothing  came  of  their  interview,  of 
which  no  record  is  preserved.  The  two  bills  were 
passed,  almost  unanimously.  But  every  one  felt 
that  their  usefulness  had  been  taken  out  of  them 
by  the  other  consequences  of  that  event  which  had 
induced  their  introduction.  News  of  them,  how- 
ever, was  dispatched  to  America  by  a  ship  which 
followed  close  upon  the  frigate  which  carried  the 
tidings  of  the  French  treaties.  If  the  English 
ship  should  arrive  first,  something  might  be  ef- 
fected. But  it  did  not,  and  probably  nothing 
would  have  been  gained  if  it  had.  Franklin  truly 
said  to  Hartley:  "All  acts  that,  suppose  your 
future  government  of  the  colonies  can  be  no  longer 
significant;  "  and  he  described  the  acts  as  "two  fri- 
volous bills,  which  the  present  ministry,  in  their 
consternation,  have  thought  fit  to  propose,  with  a 
view  to  support  their  public  credit  a  little  longer 
at  home,  and  to  amuse  and  divide,  if  possible,  our 
people  in  America."  But  even  for  this  purpose 
they  came  too  late,  and  stirred  no  other  response 
than  a  ripple  of  sarcastic  triumph  over  such  an 
act  of  humiliation,  which  was  aggravated  by  being 
rejected  almost  without  consideration  by  Congress. 


TREATY   WITH   FRANCE  283 

So  there  was  an  end  of  conciliation.  On  March 
23  the  American  envoys  had  the  significant  dis- 
tinction of  a  presentation  to  the  king,  who  is  said 
to  have  addressed  to  them  this  gracious  and  royal 
sentence:  "Gentlemen,  I  wish  the  Congress  to 
be  assured  of  my  friendship.  I  beg  leave  also  to 
observe  that  I  am  exceedingly  satisfied,  in  particu- 
lar, with  your  own  conduct  during  your  residence 
in  my  kingdom."1  This  personal  compliment,  if 
paid,  was  gratifying;  for  the  anomalous  and  diffi- 
cult position  of  the  envoys  had  compelled  them 
to  govern  themselves  wholly  by  their  own  tact  and 
judgment,  with  no  aid  from  experience  or  prece- 
dents. 

The  presentation  had  been  delayed  by  reason 
of  Franklin  having  an  attack  of  the  gout,  and  the 
effort,  when  made,  laid  him  up  for  some  time 
afterward.  It  was  on  this  occasion,  especially, 
that  he  made  himself  conspicuous  by  wearing  only 
the  simple  dress  of  a  gentleman  of  the  day  instead 
of  the  costume  of  etiquette.  Bancroft  says  that 
again  he  donned  the  suit  of  spotted  Manchester 
velvet.  He  did  not  wear  a  sword,  but  made  up 
for  it  by  keeping  on  his  spectacles;  he  had  a 
round  white  hat  under  his  arm,  and  no  wig  con- 
cealed his  scanty  gray  hair.  America  has  always 
rejoiced  at  this  republican  simplicity;  but  the  fact 
seems  to  be  that  it  was  largely  due  to  chance. 
Parton  says  that  the  doctor  had  ordered  a  wig, 
but  when  it  came  home  it  proved  much  too  small 
1  Parton 's  Life  of  Franklin,  ii.  312. 


284  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

for  his  great  head,  and  there  was  no  time  to  make 
another.  Hawthorne  also  repeats  the  story  that 
Franklin's  court  suit  did  not  get  home  in  time, 
and  so  he  had  to  go  in  ordinary  apparel  ;  but  it 
"took"  so  well  that  the  shrewd  doctor  never 
explained  the  real  reason. 

On  March  13  the  Marquis  de  Noailles,  French 
ambassador  at  St.  James's,  formally  announced 
to  the  English  secretary  of  state  the  execution  of 
the  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce;  and  impu- 
dently added  a  hope  that  the  English  court  would 
see  therein  "new  proofs"  of  King  Louis's  "sin- 
cere disposition  for  peace;  "  and  that  his  Britannic 
majesty,  animated  by  the  same  sentiments,  would 
equally  avoid  everything  that  might  alter  their 
good  harmony;  also  that  he  would  particularly 
take  effective  measures  to  prevent  the  commerce 
between  his  French  majesty's  subjects  and  the 
United  States  of  North  America  from  being  inter- 
rupted. When  this  was  communicated  to  Parlia- 
ment Conway  asked :  "  What  else  have  we  to  do 
but  to  take  up  the  idea  that  Franklin  has  thrown 
out  with  fairness  and  manliness?"1  But  Frank- 
lin's ideas  had  not  now,  any  more  than  heretofore, 
the  good  fortune  to  be  acceptable  to  English  min- 
isters. Indeed,  the  mere  fact  that  a  suggestion 
came  from  him  was  in  itself  unfortunate;  for  the 
king,  whose  influence  was  preponderant  in  this 
American    business,    had    singled    out    Franklin 

1  The   reference  was   to  the  suggestion  made  to  Hartley  for 
sending  commissioners  to  Paris  to  treat  for  peace. 


TREATY   WITH   FRANCE  285 

among  all  the  "rebels"  as  the  object  of  extreme 
personal  hatred.1  Franklin  certainly  reciprocated 
the  feeling  with  an  intensity  which  John  Adams 
soon  afterward  noted,  apparently  with  some  sur- 
j:>rise.  The  only  real  reply  to  Noailles's  message 
which  commended  itself  to  government  was  the 
instant  recall  of  Lord  Stormont,  who  left  Paris 
on  March  23,  sans  prendre  conge,  just  as  he  had 
once  before  threatened  to  do.  On  the  same  day 
the  French  ambassador  left  London,  accompa- 
nied, as  Gibbon  said,  by  "some  slight  expression 
of  ill  humor  from  John  Bull."  At  the  end  of 
the  month  M.  Gerard  sailed  for  America,  the  first 
accredited  minister  to  the  new  member  of  the 
sisterhood  of  civilized  nations.  A  fortnight  later 
the  squadron  of  D'Estaing  sailed  from  Toulon  for 
American  waters,  and  two  weeks  later  the  English 
fleet  followed. 

Thus  far  the  course  of  France  throughout  her 
relationship  with  the  States  had  been  that  of  a 
generous  friend.  She  undoubtedly  had  been  pri- 
marily instigated  by  enmity  to  England;  and  she 
had  been  for  a  while  guarded  and  cautious;  yet 
not  unreasonably  so;  on  the  contrary,  she  had  in 
many  instances  been  sufficiently  remiss  in  regard- 
ing her  neutral  obligations  to  give  abundant  cause 
for  war,  though  England  had  not  felt  ready  to 
declare  it.  At  the  first  interview  concerning  the 
treaty  of  commerce  de  Vergennes  had  said  that 
the  French  court  desired  to  take  no  advantage  of 

1  Franklin's  Works,  vi.  39,  note. 


286  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

the  condition  of  the  States,  and  to  exact  no  terms 
which  they  would  afterward  regret,  but  rather  to 
make  an  arrangement  so  based  upon  the  interest 
of  both  parties  that  it  should  last  as  long  as  human 
institutions  should  endure,  so  that  mutual  amity 
should  subsist  forever.  M.  Gerard  reiterated  the 
same  sentiments.  That  this  language  was  not 
mere  French  courtesy  was  proved  by  the  fact  that 
the  treaties,  when  completed,  were  "founded  on 
principles  of  equality  and  reciprocity,  and  for  the 
most  part  were  in  conformity  to  the  proposals  of 
Congress."1  Each  party,  under  the  customs  laws 
of  the  other,  was  to  be  upon  the  footing  of  the 
most  favored  nation.  The  transfer  of  the  valu- 
able and  growing  trade  of  the  States  from  Eng- 
land to  France  had  been  assiduously  held  out  as 
a  temptation  to  France  to  enter  into  these  treaties ; 
but  no  effort  was  made  by  France  to  gain  from 
the  needs  of  the  Americans  any  exclusive  privi- 
leges for  herself.  She  was  content  to  stipulate 
only  that  no  other  people  should  be  granted  pre- 
ferences over  her,  leaving  the  States  entirely  un- 
hampered for  making  subsequent  arrangements 
with  other  nations.  The  light  in  which  these 
dealings  about  the  treaties  made  the  French  min- 
ister and  the  French  court  appear  to  Franklin 
should  be  remembered  in  the  discussions  which 
arose  later  concerning  the  treaty  of  peace.2 

1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  ix.  481. 

2  See  Franklin's  Works,  vi.   133.     At  this  time  John  Adams 
strongly  entertained   the  same  sentiments,  though  he  afterward 


TREATY   WITH  FRANCE  287 

It  may  further  be  mentioned,  by  the  way,  that 
Franklin  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  inserted  his 
favorite  principle  :  that  free  ships  should  make 
free  goods,  and  free  persons  also,  save  only  sol- 
diers in  actual  service  of  an  enemy.  In  passing, 
it  is  pleasant  to  preserve  this,  amid  the  abundant 
other  testimony  to  Franklin's  humane  and  ad- 
vanced ideas  as  to  the  conduct  of  war  between 
civilized  nations.1  The  doctrine  of  free  ships 
making  free  goods,  though  promulgated  early  in 
the  century,  was  still  making  slow  and  difficult 
progress.  Franklin  accepted  it  with  eagerness. 
He  wrote  that  he  was  "not  only  for  respecting 
the  ships  as  the  house  of  a  friend,  though  contain- 
ing the  goods  of  an  enemy,  but  I  even  wish  that 
...  all  those  kinds  of  people  who  are  employed 
in  procuring  subsistence  for  the  species,  or  in 
exchanging  the  necessaries  or  conveniences  of  life, 
which  are  for  the  common  benefit  of  mankind, 
such  as  husbandmen  on  their  lands,  fishermen  in 
their  barques,  and  traders  in  unarmed  vessels, 
shall  be  permitted  to  prosecute  their  several  in- 
nocent and  useful  employments  without  interrup- 
tion or  molestation,  and  nothing  taken  from  them, 
even  when  wanted  by  an  enemy,  but  on  paying 
a  fair  price  for  the  same."     Also  to  the  president 

felt  very  differently  about  the   sincerity  of  France.     Diplomatic 
Correspondence  of  American  Revolution,  iv.  262,  292. 

1  He  was  able  to  give  a  practical  proof  of  his  liberality  by  fur- 
nishing a  passport  to  the  packets  carrying  goods  to  the  Moravian 
brethren  in  Labrador.     Hale's  Franklin  in  France,  i.  245. 


288  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

of  Congress  lie  spoke  of  Russia's  famous  proposal 
for  an  "armed  neutrality  for  protecting  the  liberty 
of  commerce"  as  "the  great  public  event"  of  the 
year  in  Europe.  He  proposed  that  Congress 
should  order  their  cruisers  "not  to  molest  foreign 
ships,  but  to  conform  to  the  spirit  of  that  treaty 
of  neutrality."  Congress  promptly  voted  to  re- 
quest the  admission  of  the  States  to  the  league, 
and  John  Adams  took  charge  of  this  business 
during  his  mission  to  Holland. 

Events  having  thus  established  the  indefinite 
continuance  of  the  war,  the  good  Hartley,  pro- 
foundly disappointed,  wrote  a  brief  note  invoking 
blessings  on  his  "dear  friend,"  and  closing  with 
the  ominous  words,  "If  tempestuous  times  should 
come,  take  care  of  your  own  safety;  events  are 
uncertain  and  men  may  be  capricious."  Franklin, 
however,  declined  to  be  alarmed.  "I  thank  you," 
he  said,  "for  your  kind  caution,  but  having  nearly 
finished  a  long  life,  I  set  but  little  value  on  what 
remains  of  it.  Like  a  draper,  when  one  chaffers 
with  him  for  a  remnant,  I  am  ready  to  say:  'As 
it  is  only  the  fag  end,  I  will  not  differ  with  you 
about  it ;  take  it  for  what  you  please. '  Perhaps 
the  best  use  such  an  old  fellow  can  be  put  to  is 
to  make  a  martyr  of  him." 

A  few  weeks  after  the  conclusion  of  this  diplo- 
matic bond  of  friendship  between  the  two  peoples, 
Franklin,  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Bancroft,  "placed 
the  public  opinion  of  philosophical  France  con- 
spicuously  on   the   side    of   America."     Voltaire 


TREATY  WITH  FRANCE  289 

came  back  to  Paris,  after  twenty-seven  years  of 
voluntary  exile,  and  received  such  adoration  that 
it  almost  seemed  as  if,  for  Frenchmen,  he  was 
taking  the  place  of  that  God  whom  he  had  been 
declaring  non-existent,  but  whom  he  believed  it 
necessary  for  mankind  to  invent.  Franklin  had 
an  interview  with  him,  which  presented  a  curious 
scene.  The  aged  French  philosopher,  shriveled, 
bright-eyed,  destructive-minded,  received  the  aged 
American  philosopher,  portly,  serene,  the  human- 
est  of  men,  in  theatrical  French  fashion,  quoting 
a  passage  of  English  poetry,  and  uttering  over 
the  head  of  young  Temple  the  appropriate  bene- 
diction, "God  and  Liberty."  This  drama  was 
enacted  in  private,  but  on  April  29  occurred 
that  public  spectacle  made  familiar  by  countless 
engravings,  decorating  the  walls  of  so  many  old- 
fashioned  American  "sitting-rooms"  and  "best 
parlors,"  when,  upon  the  stage  of  the  Academy 
of  Sciences,  before  a  numerous  and  distinguished 
audience,  the  two  venerable  sages  met  and  saluted 
each  other.  "11  faut  s'embrasser  a  la  Fran- 
qaise,"  shouted  the  enthusiastic  crowd;  so  they 
fell  into  each  other's  arms,  and  kissed,  after  the 
continental  mode.  Great  was  the  fervor  aroused 
in  the  breasts  of  the  classic  people  of  France  as 
they  proudly  saw  upon  their  soil  a  new  "Solon 
and  Sophocles  "  in  embrace.  Who  shall  say  that 
Franklin's  personal  prestige  in  Europe  had  not 
practical  value  for  America? 

Silas  Deane,  recalled,   accompanied  Gerard  to 


290  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

America.  He  carried  with  him  a  brief  but  gener- 
ous letter  from  Franklin  to  the  president  of  Con- 
gress.1 At  the  same  time  Izard  was  writing  home 
that  Deane's  misbehavior  had  long  delayed  the 
alliance  with  France,  and  he  repeated  what  he 
had  said  in  former  letters,  that  "whatever  good 
dispositions  were  shown  by  Mr.  Lee,  they  were 
always  opposed  and  overruled  by  the  two  oldest 
commissioners."  The  departure  of  the  two  gen- 
tlemen was  kept  a  close  secret  at  Paris,  and  at 
the  request  of  de  Vergennes  especially  a  secret 
from  Arthur  Lee.  For  the  French  ministry  were 
well  assured  that  Lee's  private  secretary  was  a 
spy  in  British  pay,  and  had  he  got  possession  of 
this  important  bit  of  news,  it  would  not  only  have 
been  untimely  in  a  diplomatic  way,  but  it  might 
have  given  opportunity  for  British  cruisers  to 
waylay  a  vessel  carrying  such  distinguished  pas- 
sengers. The  precaution  was  justifiable,  but  it 
had  ill  consequences  for  Franklin,  since  it  natu- 
rally incensed  Lee  to  an  extreme  degree,  and  led 
to  a  very  sharp  correspondence,  which  still  further 
aggravated  the  discomfort  of  the  situation.  The 
legitimate  trials  to  which  the  aged  doctor  was  sub- 
jected were  numerous  and  severe  enough,  but  the 
untiring  and  malicious  enmity  of  Arthur  Lee  was 
an  altogether  illegitimate  vexation. 

Mr.  Hale  in  his  recent  volumes  upon  Franklin 
truly  says  that  "it  is  unnecessary  to  place  vituper- 
ative adjectives  to  the  credit  [discredit?]  of  Arthur 

1  Franklin's  Works,  vi.  153. 


TREATY   WITH  FRANCE  291 

Lee  ; "  and  in  fact  to  do  so  seems  a  work  of 
supererogation,  since  there  probably  remain  few 
such  epithets  in  the  English  language  which  have 
not  already  been  applied  to  him  by  one  writer  or 
another.  Yet  it  is  hard  to  hold  one's  hand,  al- 
though humanity  would  perhaps  induce  us  to  pity 
rather  than  to  revile  a  man  cursed  with  so  un- 
happy a  temperament.  But  whatever  may  be  said 
or  left  unsaid  about  him  personally,  the  infinite 
disturbance  which  he  caused  cannot  be  wholly 
ignored.  It  was  great  enough  to  constitute  an 
important  element  in  history.  Covered  by  the 
powerful  authority  of  his  influential  and  patriotic 
family  at  home,  and  screened  by  the  profound 
ignorance  of  Congress  concerning  men  and  affairs 
abroad,  Lee  was  able  for  a  long  time  to  run  his 
mischievous  career  without  discovery  or  interrup- 
tion. He  buzzed  about  Europe  like  an  angry 
hornet,  thrusting  his  venomous  sting  into  every 
respectable  and  useful  servant  of  his  country,  and 
irritating  exceedingly  the  foreigners  whom  it  was 
of  the  first  importance  to  conciliate.  Incredible 
as  it  seems,  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  express  in  Paris  his  deep  antipathy  to 
France  and  Frenchmen ;  and  it  was  only  the  low 
esteem  in  which  he  was  held  that  prevented  his 
singular  behavior  from  doing  irreparable  injury 
to  the  colonial  cause.  The  English  newspapers 
tauntingly  ridiculed  his  insignificance  and  incapa- 
city; de  Vergennes  could  not  endure  him,  and 
scarcely  treated  him  with  civility.     But  his  intense 


292  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

egotism  prevented  him  from  gathering  wisdom 
from  such  harsh  instruction,  which  only  added 
gall  to  his  native  bitterness.  He  wreaked  his 
revenge  upon  his  colleagues,  and  towards  Franklin 
he  cherished  an  envious  hatred  which  developed 
into  a  monomania.  Perhaps  Franklin  was  correct 
in  charitably  saying  that  at  times  he  was  "in- 
sane." He  began  by  asserting  that  Franklin  was 
old,  idle,  and  useless,  fit  only  to  be  shelved  in 
some  respectable  sinecure  mission ;  but  he  rapidly 
advanced  from  such  moderate  condemnation  until 
he  charged  Franklin  with  being  a  party  to  the 
abstraction  of  his  dispatches  from  a  sealed  parcel, 
which  was  rifled  in  some  unexplained  way  on  its 
passage  home; 1  and  finally  he  even  reached  the 
extremity  of  alleging  financial  dishonesty  in  the 
public  business,  and  insinuated  an  opinion  that 
the  doctor's  great  rascality  indicated  an  intention 
never  again  to  revisit  his  native  land.  In  all  this 
malevolence  he  found  an  earnest  colleague  in  the 
hot-blooded  Izard,  whose  charges  against  Frank- 
lin were  unmeasured.  "His  abilities,"  wrote  this 
angry  gentleman,  "are  great  and  his  reputation 
high.  Removed  as  he  is  at  so  considerable  a 
distance  from  the  observation  of  his  constituents, 
if  he  is  not  guided  by  principles  of  virtue  and 
honor,  those  abilities  and  that  reputation  may 
produce  the  most  mischievous  effects.  In  my 
conscience  I  declare  to  you  that  I  believe  him 
under  no  such  restraint,  and  God  knows  that  I 
speak  the   real,   unprejudiced   sentiments   of   my 

1  Parton's  Franklin,  ii.  354 


TREATY  WITH  FRANCE        293 

heart."  Such  fulminations,  reaching  the  States 
out  of  what  was  then  for  them  the  obscurity  of 
Europe,  greatly  perplexed  the  members  of  Con- 
gress; for  they  had  very  insufficient  means  for 
determining  the  value  of  the  testimony  given  by 
these  absent  witnesses. 

It  would  serve  no  useful  purpose  to  devote  valu- 
able space  to  narrating  at  length  all  the  slander 
and  malice  of  these  restless  men,  all  the  cor- 
respondence, the  quarrels,  the  explanations,  and 
general  trouble  to  which  they  gave  rise.  But  the 
reader  must  exercise  his  imagination  liberally  in 
fancying  these  things,  in  order  to  appreciate  to 
what  incessant  annoyance  Franklin  was  subjected 
at  a  time  when  the  inevitable  anxieties  and  severe 
labors  of  his  position  were  far  beyond  the  strength 
of  a  man  of  his  years.  He  showed  wonderful 
patience  and  dignity,  and  though  he  sometimes 
let  some  asperity  find  expression  in  his  replies,  he 
never  let  them  degenerate  into  retorts.  Moreover, 
he  replied  as  little  as  possible,  for  he  truly  said 
that  he  hated  altercation;  whereas  Lee,  who  re- 
veled in  it,  took  as  an  aggravation  of  all  his  other 
injuries  that  his  opponent  was  inclined  to  curtail 
the  full  luxury  to  be  expected  from  a  quarrel. 
Franklin  also  magnanimously  refrained  from 
arraigning  Lee  and  Izard  to  Congress,  either  pub- 
licly or  privately,  a  forbearance  which  these  chiv- 
alrous gentlemen  did  not  emulate.  The  memo- 
rial1 of  Arthur  Lee,  of  May,  1779,  addressed  to 

1  Franklin's  Works,  vi.  363. 


294  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

Congress,  contains  criminations  enough  to  furnish 
forth  many  impeachments.  But  Franklin  would 
not  condescend  to  allow  his  serenity  to  be  dis- 
turbed by  the  news  of  these  assaults.  He  felt 
"very  easy,"  he  said,  about  these  efforts  to  injure 
him,  trusting  in  the  justice  of  the  Congress  to 
listen  to  no  accusations  without  giving  him  an 
opportunity  to  reply.1  Yet  his  position  was  not 
so  absolutely  secure  and  exalted  but  that  he  suf- 
fered some  little  injury  at  home. 

John  Adams,  going  out  to  replace  Silas  Deane, 
crossed  him  on  the  passage,  arriving  at  Bordeaux 
on  March  31, 1778.  This  ardent  New  Englander, 
orderly,  business-like,  endowed  with  an  insatiate 
industry,  plunged  headlong  into  the  midst  of  af- 
fairs. With  that  happy  self-confidence  charac- 
teristic of  our  people,  which  leads  every  American 
to  believe  that  he  can  at  once  and  without  train- 
ing do  anything  whatsoever  better  than  it  can  be 
done  by  any  other  living  man  no  matter  how  well 
trained,  Adams  began  immediately  to  act  and  to 
criticise.  In  a  few  hours  he  knew  all  about  the 
discussions  between  the  various  envoys,  quasi  en- 
voys, and  agents,  who  were  squabbling  with  each 
other  to  the  scandal  of  Paris;  in  a  few  days  he 
was  ready  to  turn  out  Jonathan  Williams,  unseen 
and  unheard.  He  was  shocked  at  the  confusion 
in  which  he  saw  all  the  papers  of  the  embassy, 
and  set  vigorously  about  the  task  of  sorting,  label- 
ing, docketing,  and  tying  up  letters  and  accounts; 
1  To  Richard  Bache,  Franklin's  Works,  vi.  414. 


TREATY   WITH   FRANCE  295 

it  was  a  task  which  Franklin  unquestionably  had 
neglected,  and  which  required  to  be  done.  He 
was  appalled  at  the  "prodigious  sums  of  money" 
which  had  been  expended,  at  the  further  great 
sums  which  were  still  to  be  paid,  and  at  the  lack 
of  any  proper  books  of  accounts,  so  that  he  could 
not  learn  "what  the  United  States  have  received 
as  an  equivalent."  He  did  not  in  direct  words 
charge  the  other  commissioners  with  culpable  neg- 
ligence; but  it  was  an  unavoidable  inference  from 
what  he  did  say.  Undoubtedly  the  fact  was  that 
the  accounts  were  disgracefully  muddled  and  in- 
sufficient; but  the  fault  really  lay  with  Congress, 
which  had  never  permitted  proper  clerical  assist- 
ance to  be  employed.  Adams  soon  found  this 
out,  and  appreciated  that  besides  all  the  diplo- 
matic affairs,  which  were  their  only  proper  con- 
cern, the  commissioners  were  also  transacting  an 
enormous  business,  financial  and  commercial,  in- 
volving innumerable  payments  great  and  small, 
loans,  purchases,  and  correspondence,  and  that 
all  was  being  conducted  with  scarcely  any  aid  of 
clerks  or  accountants;  whereas  a  mercantile  firm 
engaged  in  affairs  of  like  extent  and  moment 
would  have  had  an  extensive  establishment  with 
a  numerous  force  of  skilled  employees.  When 
Adams  had  been  a  little  longer  in  Paris,  he 
also  began  to  see  where  and  how  "the  prodigious 
sums"  went,1  and  just  what  was  the  full  scope 
of  the  functions  of  the  commissioners;   then  the 

1  Diplomatic  Corresp.  of  Amer.  Rev.  iv.  249,  251. 


296  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

censoriousness  evaporated  out  of  his  language. 
He  admitted  that  the  neglects  of  subordinate 
agents  were  such  that  it  was  impossible  for  the 
commissioners  to  learn  the  true  state  of  their 
finances;  and  he  joined  in  the  demand,  so  often 
reiterated  by  Franklin,  for  the  establishment  of 
the  usual  and  proper  commercial  agencies.  The 
business  of  accepting  and  keeping  the  run  of 
the  bills  drawn  by  Congress,  and  of  teasing  the 
French  government  for  money  to  meet  them  at 
maturity,  would  still  remain  to  be  attended  to  by 
the  ministers  in  person;  but  these  things  long 
experience  might  enable  them  to  manage. 

No  sooner  had  Adams  scented  the  first  whiff  of 
the  quarrel-laden  atmosphere  of  the  embassy  than 
he  expressed  in  his  usual  self-satisfied,  impetuous, 
and  defiant  way  his  purpose  to  be  rigidly  impar- 
tial. But  he  was  a  natural  fault-finder,  and  by 
no  means  a  natural  peacemaker;  and  his  impar- 
tiality had  no  effect  in  assuaging  the  animosities 
which  he  found.  However,  amid  all  the  discords 
of  the  embassy  there  was  one  note  of  harmony; 
and  the  bewildered  Congress  must  have  felt  much 
satisfaction  in  finding  that  all  the  envoys  were 
agreed  that  one  representative  at  the  French  court 
would  be  vastly  better  as  well  as  cheaper  than  the 
sort  of  caucus  which  now  held  its  angry  sessions 
there.  At  worst  one  man  could  not  be  forever  at 
odds  with  himself.  Adams,  when  he  had  finished 
the  task  of  arranging  the  archives,  found  no  other 
occupation ;  and  he  was  scandalized  at  the  extra- 


TREATY    WITH   FRANCE  297 

vagance  of  keeping  three  envoys.  Lee,  by  the 
way,  had  constantly  insinuated  that  Franklin  was 
blamably  lax,  if  not  actually  untrustworthy,  in 
money  matters,  though  all  the  while  he  and  his 
friend  Izard  had  been  quite  shameless  in  extorting 
from  the  doctor  very  large  sums  for  their  own 
expenses.  When  the  figures  came  to  be  made  up 
it  appeared  that  Franklin  had  drawn  less  than 
either  of  his  colleagues,  and  much  less  than  the 
sum  soon  afterward  established  by  Congress  as 
the  proper  salary  for  the  position.1  The  frugal- 
minded  New  Englander  himself  now  acknowledged 
that  he  could  "not  find  any  article  of  expense 
which  could  be  retrenched,"2  and  he  honestly 
begged  Congress  to  stop  the  triple  outlay. 

Franklin,  upon  his  part,  wrote  that  in  many 
ways  the  public  business  and  the  national  prestige 
suffered  much  from  the  lack  of  unanimity  among 
the  envoys,  and  said:  "In  consideration  of  the 
whole,  I  wish  Congress  would  separate  us."  Nei- 
ther Adams  nor  Franklin  wrote  one  word  which 
either  directly  or  indirectly  had  a  personal  bear- 
ing. Arthur  Lee  was  more  frank;  in  the  days 
of  Deane  he  had  begun  to  write  that  to  continue 
himself  at  Paris  would  "disconcert  effectually 
the  wicked  measures "  of  Franklin,  Deane,  and 
Williams,  and  that  it  was  "the  one  way  of  re- 
dressing" the  "neglect,  dissipation,  and  private 
schemes"   prevalent   in   the   department,   and   of 

1  Diplomatic  Corresp.  of  Amer.  Rev.  iv.  246. 

2  Ibid.  245. 


298  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

"remedying  the  public  evil."  He  said  that  the 
French  court  was  the  place  of  chief  importance, 
calling  for  the  ablest  and  most  efficient  man,  to 
wit,  himself.  He  suggested  that  Franklin  might 
be  sent  to  Vienna,  a  dignified  retreat  without  la- 
bor. Izard  and  William  Lee  wrote  letters  of  like 
purport;  it  was  true  that  it  was  none  of  their 
affair,  but  they  were  wont  to  interfere  in  the  busi- 
ness of  the  commissioners,  as  if  the  French  mis- 
sion were  common  property.  Congress  took  so 
much  of  this  advice  as  all  their  advisers  were 
agreed  upon ;  that  is  to  say,  it  broke  up  the  com- 
mission to  France.  But  it  did  not  appoint  Ar- 
thur Lee  to  remain  there ;  on  the  contrary,  it  nom- 
inated Franklin  to  be  minister  plenipotentiary 
at  the  French  court,  left  Lee  still  accredited  to 
Madrid,  as  he  had  been  before,  and  gave  Adams 
neither  any  place  nor  any  instructions,  so  that  he 
soon  returned  home.  Gerard,  at  Philadelphia, 
claimed  the  credit  of  having  defeated  the  mach- 
inations of  the  "dangerous  and  bad  man,"  Lee, 
and  congratulated  de  Vergennes  on  his  relief  from 
the  burden.1  Franklin's  commission  was  brought 
over  by  Lafayette  in  February,  1779.  Thus  ended 
the  Lee-Izard  cabal  against  Franklin;  it  was  not 
unlike  the  Gates-Conway  cabal  against  Washing- 
ton, save  that  it  lasted  longer  and  was  more  exas- 
perating. The  success  of  either  would  have  been 
almost  equally  perilous  to  the  popular  cause;  for 
the  instatement  of  Lee  as  minister  plenipotentiary 

1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  ii.  383. 


TREATY  WITH  FRANCE  299 

at  the  French  court  would  inevitably  have  led  to 
a  breach  with  France.  The  result  was  very  grati- 
fying to  Franklin,  since  it  showed  that  all  the  ill 
tales  about  him  which  had  gone  home  had  not 
ruined,  though  certainly  they  had  seriously  in- 
jured, his  good  repute  among  his  countrymen. 
Moreover,  he  could  truly  say  that  the  office  "was 
not  obtained  by  any  solicitation  or  intrigue,"  or 
by  "magnifying  his  own  services,  or  diminishing 
those  of  others."  But  apart  from  the  gratification 
and  a  slight  access  of  personal  dignity,  the  change 
made  no  difference  in  his  duties;  he  still  combined 
the  functions  of  loan-agent,  consul,  naval  direc- 
tor, and  minister,  as  before.  Nor  was  he  even 
yet  wholly  rid  of  Arthur  Lee.  He  had,  however, 
the  satisfaction  of  absolutely  refusing  to  honor  any 
more  of  Lee's  or  Izard's  exorbitant  drafts  for 
their  personal  expenses. 

Shortly  after  his  appointment  Franklin  sent  his 
grandson  to  Lee,  with  a  note  requesting  Lee  to 
send  to  him  such  papers  belonging  to  the  embassy 
as  were  in  his  possession.  Lee  insolently  replied 
that  he  had  "no  papers  belonging  to  the  depart- 
ment of  minister  plenipotentiary  at  the  court  of 
Versailles ; "  that  if  Franklin  referred  to  papers 
relating  to  transactions  of  the  late  joint  commis- 
sion, he  had  "yet  to  learn  and  could  not  conceive" 
by  what  reason  or  authority  one  commissioner  was 
entitled  to  demand  custody  of  them.  Franklin 
replied  temperately  enough  that  many  of  them 
were  essential  to  him  for  reference  in  conducting 


300  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

the  public  business,  but  said  that  he  should  be 
perfectly  content  to  have  copies.  The  captious 
Lee  was  still  further  irritated  by  this  scheme  for 
avoiding  a  quarrel,  but  had  to  accede  to  it. 

To  John  Paul  Jones  Franklin  stood  in  the  rela- 
tion of  a  navy  department.  The  daring  exploits 
of  that  gallant  mariner  form  a  chapter  too  fascina- 
ting to  be  passed  by  without  reluctance,  but  limi- 
tations of  space  are  inexorable.  His  success  and 
his  immunity  in  his  reckless  feats  seem  marvelous. 
His  chosen  field  was  the  narrow  seas  which  sur- 
round Britain,  which  swarmed  with  British  ship- 
ping, and  were  dominated  by  the  redoubtable 
British  navy  as  the  streets  of  a  city  are  kept  in 
order  by  police.  But  the  rover  Jones,  though 
always  close  to  his  majesty's  coasts,  was  too  much 
for  all  his  majesty's  admirals  and  captains.  He 
harried  these  home  waters  and  captured  prizes  till 
he  became  embarrassed  by  the  extent  of  his  own 
success;  he  landed  at  Whitehaven,  spiked  the 
guns  of  the  fort,  and  fired  the  ships  of  the  fleet 
in  the  harbor  beneath  the  eyes  of  the  astounded 
Englishmen,  who  thronged  the  shore  and  gazed 
bewildered  upon  the  spectacle  which  American 
audacity  displayed  for  them;  he  made  incursions 
on  the  land;  he  threatened  the  port  of  Leith,  and 
would  undoubtedly  have  bombarded  it,  had  not 
obstinate  counter  winds  thwarted  his  plans;  he 
kept  the  whole  British  shores  in  a  state  of  fever- 
ish  alarm;    he   was   always   ready   to   fight,   and 


THE    ^ 


TREATY   WITH   FRANCE  301 

challenged  the  English  warship,  the  Serapis,  to 
come  out  and  meet  him;  she  came,  and  he  cap- 
tured her  after  fighting  so  desperately  that  his 
own  ship,  the  famous  Bon  Homme  Kichard,  named 
after  Poor  Richard,  sank  a  few  hours  after  the 
combat  was  over. 

All  these  glorious  feats  were  rendered  possible 
by  Franklin,  who  found  the  money,  consulted  as 
to  the  operations,  issued  commissions,  attended  to 
purchases  and  repairs,  to  supplies  and  equipment, 
who  composed  quarrels,  settled  questions  of  author- 
ity, and  interposed  to  protect  vessels  and  com- 
manders from  the  perils  of  the  laws  of  neutrality. 
Jones  had  a  great  respect  and  admiration  for  him, 
and  said  to  him  once  that  his  letters  would  make 
a  coward  brave.  The  projects  of  Jones  were  gen- 
erally devised  in  consultations  with  Franklin,  and 
were  in  the  direct  line  of  enterprises  already  sug- 
gested by  Franklin,  who  had  urged  Congress  to 
send  out  three  frigates,  disguised  as  merchantmen, 
which  could  make  sudden  descents  upon  the  Eng- 
lish coast,  destroy,  burn,  gather  plunder,  and  levy 
contributions,  and  be  off  before  molestation  was 
possible.  "The  burning  or  plundering  of  Liver- 
pool or  Glasgow,"  he  wrote,  "would  do  us  more 
essential  service  than  a  million  of  treasure,  and 
much  blood  spent  on  the  continent;  "  and  he  was 
confident  that  it  was  "practicable  with  very  little 
danger."  This  was  not  altogether  in  accord  with 
his  humane  theory  for  the  conduct  of  war;  but 
so  long  as  that  theory  was  not  adopted  by  one 


302  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

side,  it  could  not  of  course  be  allowed  to  handicap 
the  other. 

As  if  Franklin  had  not  enough  legitimate  trou- 
ble in  furthering  these  naval  enterprises,  an  en- 
tirely undeserved  vexation  grew  out  of  them  for 
him.  There  was  a  French  captain  Landais,  who 
entered  the  service  of  the  States  and  was  given 
the  command  of  a  ship  in  what  was  dignified  by 
the  name  of  Jones's  "squadron."  Of  all  the 
excitable  Frenchmen  who  have  ever  lived  none 
can  have  been  more  hot-headed  than  this  remark- 
able man.  During  the  engagement  between  the 
Bon  Homme  Kichard  and  the  Serapis,  he  sailed 
up  and  down  besidej  the  former  and  delivered 
broadsides  into  her  4mtil  he  was  near  disabling 
and  sinking  the  ship  of  his  own  commander.  The 
incomprehensible  proceeding  meant  only  that  he 
was  so  wildly  excited  that  he  did  not  know  at 
whom  he  was  firing.  Soon  he  quarreled  with 
Jones;  Franklin  had  to  intervene;  then  Landais 
advanced  all  sorts  of  preposterous  demands,  which 
Franklin  refused;  thereupon  he  quarreled  with 
Franklin;  a  very  disagreeable  correspondence 
ensued ;  Franklin  finally  had  to  displace  Landais 
from  command  of  his  ship;  Landais  defied  him 
and  refused  to  surrender  command.  Then  Lee 
decided  to  go  home  to  the  States  in  Landais' s 
ship.  When  the  two  got  together  they  stirred  up 
a  mutiny  on  board,  and  more  trouble  was  made 
for  Franklin.  At  last  they  got  away,  and  Landais 
went  crazy  during  the  voyage,  was  deposed  by  his 


Bon  Homme  Richard  and  Serapis 


OF   THt-      ' 

UNIVERSITY 


Sal 


> —  TREATY  WITH  FRANCE  303 

officers,  and  placed  in  confinement.  If  the  ship 
had  been  lost,  it  would  have  been  a  more  tolerable 
loss  than  many  for  which  the  ocean  is  accountable; 
but  she  was  not,  and  Lee  got  safe  ashore  to  con- 
tinue his  machinations  at  Philadelphia,  and  to 
publish  an  elaborate  pamphlet  against  Franklin. 
All  this  story  and  the  correspondence  may  be  read 
at  length  in  Mr.  Hale's  "Franklin  in  France." 
It  is  entertaining  and  shows  vividly  the  misery 
to  which  Franklin  was  subjected  in  attending  to 
affairs  which  were  entirely  outside  of  the  proper 
scope  of  his  office.  "It  is  hard,"  said  he,  "that 
I,  who  give  others  no  trouble  with  my  quarrels, 
should  be  plagued  with  all  the  perversities  of 
those  who  think  fit  to  wrangle  with  one  another." 


CHAPTER  XII 

FINANCIERING 

Whether  the  financiering  of  the  American 
Ee volution  is  to  be  looked  upon  in  a  pathetic  or 
in  a  comical  light  must  depend  upon  the  mood  of 
the  observer.  The  spectacle  of  a  young  people, 
with  no  accumulated  capital,  engaged  in  support- 
ing the  charge  of  a  mortal  struggle  against  all 
the  vast  resources  of  Britain,  has  in  it  something 
of  pathos.  But  the  methods  to  which  this  people 
resorted  to  raise  funds  were  certainly  of  amusing 
simplicity.  It  was  not  until  the  appointment  of 
Robert  Morris,  in  1781,  that  a  treasury  depart- 
ment came  into  existence  and  some  slight  pretense 
of  system  was  introduced  into  the  financial  affairs 
of  the  confederation.  During  the  years  prior  to 
that  time  Congress  managed  the  business  matters. 
But  Congress  neither  had  funds  nor  the  power  to 
obtain  any.  It  had  an  unlimited  power  for  con- 
tracting debts :  absolutely  no  power  for  collecting 
money.  It  used  the  former  power  freely.  When 
creditors  wanted  payment,  requisitions  were  made 
upon  the  States  for  their  respective  quotas.  But 
the  States  were  found  to  be  sadly  irresponsive; 
probably  the  citizens  really  had  not  much  ready 


FINANCIERING  305 

money;  certainly  they  had  not  enough  to  pay  in 
taxes  the  cost  of  the  war ;  no  civilized  state  has  been 
able  to  conduct  a  war,  even  a  small  one,  in  modern 
times  without  using  the  national  credit.  But  the 
United  States  had  absolutely  no  credit  at  all.  It 
was  well  enough  to  exclaim  "  Millions  for  defense ; 
but  not  one  cent  for  tribute !  "  This  was  rhetoric, 
not  business;  and  Congress  soon  found  that  the 
driblets  which  trickled  tardily  to  them  in  response 
to  their  demands  on  the  several  States  would 
hardly  moisten  the  bottom  of  the  great  exchequer 
tank,  which  needed  to  be  filled  to  the  brim. 

Two  methods  of  relief  were  then  adopted,  crude, 
simple,  but  likely  for  a  time  to  be  efficient;  and 
provided  only  that  within  that  time  the  war  could 
be  finished,  all  might  go  well.  One  of  these 
methods  was  to  issue  irredeemable  paper  "money;  " 
the  other  was  to  borrow  real  money  abroad.  The 
droll  part  was  that  both  these  transactions  were 
audaciously  entered  upon  by  a  body  which  had 
absolutely  no  revenues  at  all  to  pledge  as  security, 
which  had  not  a  dollar  of  property,  nor  authority 
to  compel  any  living  man  to  pay  it  a  dollar.  A 
more  utterly  irresponsible  debtor  than  Congress 
never  asked  for  a  loan  or  offered  a  promissory 
note.  For  the  security  of  a  creditor  there  was 
only  the  moral  probability  that  in  case  of  success 
the  people  would  be  honest  enough  to  pay  their 
debts;  and  there  was  much  danger  that  the  jeal- 
ousies between  the  States  as  to  their  proportionate 
quotas   might    stimulate   reluctance   and    furnish 


306  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

excuses  which  might  easily  become  serious  in  so 
unpleasant  a  matter  as  paying  out  hard  cash.  At 
home  Congress  could  manage  to  make  its  paper 
money  percolate  among  the  people,  and  could  pay 
a  good  many  American  creditors  with  it;  but 
there  were  some  who  would  not  be  thus  satisfied, 
and  few  European  creditors,  of  course,  would 
meddle  with  such  currency.  So  to  pay  these 
people  who  would  have  real  money  Congress  soli- 
cited loans  from  other  nations.  It  was  like  the 
financiering  of  a  schoolboy,  who  issues  his  10  IPs 
among  his  mates,  and  refers  the  exacting  and 
business-like  tradesman  to  his  father.  France  was 
cast  for  the  role  of  father  to  the  congressional 
schoolboy  for  many  wearisome  years. 

The  arrangement  bore  hard  upon  the  Ameri- 
can representatives,  who,  at  European  courts  and 
upon  European  exchanges,  had  the  embarrassing 
task  of  raising  money.  It  was  all  very  well  to 
talk  about  negotiating  a  loan;  the  phrase  had  a 
Micawber-like  sound  as  of  real  business;  but  in 
point  of  plain  fact  the  thing  to  be  done  was  to 
beg.  Congress  had  a  comparatively  easy  time  of 
it;  such  burden  and  anxiety  as  lay  upon  that  body 
were  shared  among  many;  and  after  all,  the 
whole  scope  of  its  duty  was  little  else  than  to  vote 
requisitions  upon  the  States,  to  order  the  printing 
of  a  fresh  batch  of  bills,  and  to  "resolve  that  the 
Treasury  Board  be  directed  to  prepare  bills  of 
exchange  of  suitable  denominations  upon  the  Hon- 
orable Benjamin  Franklin  [or  sometimes  Jay,  or 


FINANCIERING  307 

Adams,   or  another],   minister  plenipotentiary  at 

the  court  of  Versailles,  for thousand  dollars 

in  specie"  Having  done  this,  Congress  had  ful- 
filled its  simple  part,  and  serenely  waited  for 
something  to  turn  up. 

The  plan  which  seemed  most  effective  was  to 
send  a  representative  accredited  to  some  foreign 
government,  and  instructed  to  raise  money  at  once. 
Without  wasting  time  by  waiting  to  see  whether 
he  arrived  safely,  or  was  received,  or  was  success- 
ful in  his  negotiations,  the  next  ship  which  fol- 
lowed him  brought  drafts  and  bills  which  he  was 
expected  to  accept,  and  at  maturity  to  pay.  Hav- 
ing thus  skillfully  shifted  the  laboring  oar  into 
his  hands  Congress  bestirred  itself  no  further. 
Poor  Jay,  in  Spain,  had  a  terrible  time  of  it  in 
this  way,  and  if  ever  a  man  was  placed  by  his 
country  in  a  painful  and  humiliating  position,  it 
was  he.  He  faced  it  gallantly,  but  had  to  be 
carried  through  by  Franklin.  From  first  to  last 
it  was  upon  Franklin  that  the  brunt  fell;  he  had 
to  keep  the  country  from  financial  failure  as 
Washington  had  to  save  it  from  military  failure ; 
he  was  the  real  financier  of  the  Revolution;  with- 
out him  Robert  Morris  would  have  been  help- 
less. Spain  yielded  but  trifling  sums  in  re- 
sponse to  Jay's  solicitations  ;  Holland,  which  was 
tried  by  Adams,  was  even  more  tardy  and  unwill- 
ing, though  towards  the  end  some  money  was  got 
there.  Franklin  alone,  at  Paris,  could  tap  the 
rock  and  make  the  waters  flow.     So  upon  him 


308  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

Congress  sent  in  an  endless  procession  of  drafts, 
and  compelled  him  to  pay  all  their  foreign  bills 
and  indebtedness;  he  gathered  and  he  disbursed; 
to  him  were  referred  all  the  drafts  upon  Jay  and 
others,  which  they  themselves  could  not  pay,  and 
he  discharged  them  one  and  all.  A  heavier  task 
never  fell  upon  any  man,  nor  one  bringing  less 
recognition;  for  money  matters  usually  seem  so 
dry  and  unintelligible  that  every  one  shirks  in- 
forming himself  about  them.  We  read  about  the 
horrors  of  the  winter  camp  at  Valley  Forge,  and 
we  shudder  at  all  the  details  of  the  vivid  pic- 
ture. The  anxiety,  the  toil,  the  humiliation,  which 
Franklin  endured  for  many  winters  and  many  sum- 
mers in  Paris,  in  sustaining  the  national  credit,  do 
not  make  a  picture,  do  not  furnish  material  for  a 
readable  chapter  in  history.  Yet  many  a  man 
would  far  rather  have  faced  Washington's  lot  than 
Franklin's. 

I  do  not  intend  to  tell  this  tale  at  length  or 
minutely,  for  I  could  trust  no  reader  to  follow 
me  in  so  tedious  an  enterprise ;  yet  I  must  try  to 
convey  some  notion  of  what  this  financiering  really 
meant  for  Franklin,  of  how  ably  he  performed  it, 
of  what  it  cost  him  in  wear  and  tear  of  mind,  of 
what  toil  it  put  upon  him,  and  of  what  measure 
of  gratitude  was  due  to  him  for  it.  It  may  be 
worth  mentioning  by  the  way  that  he  not  only 
spent  himself  in  efforts  to  induce  others  to  lend, 
but  he  himself  lent.  Before  he  embarked  for 
Philadelphia  on  his  French  mission,  he  gathered 


FINANCIERING  309 

together  all  that  he  could  raise  in  money,  some 
£3000  to  X4000,  and  paid  it  over  as  an  unse- 
cured loan  for  an  indefinite  period  to  the  Conti- 
nental Congress. 

It  is  not  probable  that  from  any  records  now 
existing  the  most  patient  accountant  could  elicit 
any  statement,  even  approximating  to  accuracy, 
of  the  sums  which  Franklin  received  and  paid 
out.  But  if  such  an  account  could  be  drawn 
up,  it  would  only  indicate  some  results  in  figures 
which  would  have  little  meaning  for  persons  not 
familiar  with  the  national  debts,  revenues,  and 
outlays  of  those  times,  and  certainly  would  not  at 
all  answer  the  purpose  of  showing  what  he  really 
did.  The  only  satisfactory  method  of  giving  any 
passably  clear  idea  on  the  subject  seems  to  be  to 
furnish  some  extracts  from  his  papers. 

The  ship  which  brought  Franklin  also  brought 
indigo  to  the  value  of  <£3000,  which  was  to 
serve  as  long  as  it  could  for  the  expenses  of  the 
commissioners.  For  keeping  them  supplied  with 
money  later  on,  it  was  the  intention  of  Congress 
to  purchase  cargoes  of  American  products,  such 
as  tobacco,  rice,  indigo,  etc.,  etc.,  and  consign 
these  to  the  commissioners,  who,  besides  paying 
their  personal  bills,  were  sure  to  have  abundant 
other  means  for  using  the  proceeds.  Unfortu- 
nately, however,  it  so  happened  that  the  resources 
presented  by  this  scheme  were  already  exhausted. 
In  January,  1777,  a  loan  of  one  million  livres 
had  been  advanced  on  a  pledge  of  fifty-six  thou- 


310  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

sand  hogsheads  of  tobacco  to  the  Farmers  General 
of  the  French  revenue;  and  the  rice  and  indigo 
had  been  in  like  manner  mortgaged  to  Beaumar- 
chais.  Congressional  jugglery  could  not  quite 
compass  the  payment  of  different  creditors  with 
the  same  money,  even  supposing  that  the  money 
came  to  hand.  But  it  did  not ;  for  a  long  while 
no  cargoes  arrived;  of  those  that  were  dispatched, 
some  were  run  away  with  by  dishonest  ship-mas- 
ters, some  were  lost  at  sea,  others  were  captured 
by  the  English,  so  that  Franklin  sadly  remarked 
that  the  chief  result  was  that  the  enemy  had  been 
supplied  with  these  articles  for  nothing.  But  he 
preserved  his  resolute  cheerfulness.  "The  destroy- 
ing of  our  ships  by  the  English,"  he  said,  "is 
only  like  shaving  our  beards,  that  will  grow  again. 
Their  loss  of  provinces  is  like  the  loss  of  a  limb, 
which  can  never  again  be  united  to  their  body." 
When  at  last  a  cargo  did  arrive,  Beaumarchais 
demanded  it  as  his  own,  and  Franklin  at  last 
yielded  to  his  importunities  and  tears,  though 
having  no  really  sufficient  knowledge  of  his  right 
to  it.  Later  a  second  vessel  arrived,  and  Beau- 
marchais endeavored  to  pounce  upon  it  by  process 
of  law.  That  one  also  Franklin  let  him  have. 
Then  no  more  came,  and  this  promising  resource 
seems  never  to  have  yielded  one  dollar  for  Frank- 
lin's use. 

Already  so  early  as  January  26,  1777,  it  was 
necessary  to  appeal  to  Thomas  Morris,  from  whom 
remittances  had  been  expected  on  account  of  sales 


FINANCIERING  311 

made  at  Nantes :  "  You  must  be  sensible  how  very 
unbecoming  it  is  of  the  situation  we  are  in  to  be 
dependent  on  the  credit  of  others.  We  therefore 
desire  that  you  will  remit  with  all  possible  expe- 
dition the  sum  allotted  by  the  Congress  for  our 
expenses."  But  the  commissioners  appealed  in 
vain  to  this  worthless  drunkard. 

Strange  to  say,  the  instructions  given  by  Con- 
gress to  the  commissioners  at  the  time  of  Frank- 
lin's appointment  said  nothing  about  borrowing 
money.  In  view  of  what  he  had  to  do  in  this 
way  it  was  a  singular  omission;  but  it  was  soon 
repaired  by  letters.  In  March,  1777,  Frank- 
lin writes  to  Lee  :  "We  are  ordered  to  bor- 
row £2,000,000  on  interest;  "  also  to  "build  six 
ships  of  war,"  presumably  on  credit.  In  this  same 
month  Franklin  wrote  a  paper,  which  was  widely 
circulated  in  Europe,  in  which  he  endeavored  to 
show  that  the  honesty,  the  industry,  the  resources, 
and  the  prospects  of  the  United  States  were  so 
excellent  that  it  would  really  be  safer  to  lend  to 
them  than  to  England.  It  was  a  skillful  piece  of 
work,  and  its  arguments  had  evidently  persuaded 
the  writer  himself;  but  they  did  not  induce  the 
money-lenders  of  the  old  countries  to  accept  moral 
qualities  and  probabilities  as  collateral  security. 

Fair  success,  however,  was  soon  met  with  at  the 
court  of  France,  so  that  the  commissioners  had 
the  pleasure  of  assuring  Congress  that  they  could 
safely  be  depended  upon  to  meet  the  interest  on 
a  loan  of  15,000,000,  which  by  this  aid  Congress 


312  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

probably  would  be  able  to  contract  for.  But  that 
body  had  no  idea  of  being  content  with  this! 
March  17,  1778,  Franklin  writes  to  Lee  that  they 
have  been  drawn  upon  for  180,000  livres,  to  pay 
old  indebtedness  of  the  army  in  Canada;  also 
that  other  bills  have  been  drawn.  The  number 
and  gross  amount  of  these  were  not  stated  in 
the  advices;  but  the  commissioners  were  ordered 
to  "accept  them  when  they  should  appear."  "I 
cannot  conceive,"  said  Franklin,  "what  encour- 
agement the  Congress  could  have  had  from  any 
of  us  to  draw  on  us  for  anything  but  that  interest. 
I  suppose  their  difficulties  have  compelled  them 
to  it.  I  see  we  shall  be  distressed  here  by  these 
proceedings,"  etc.,  etc.  Congress  was  composed 
of  men  far  too  shrewd  to  await  "encouragement" 
to  draw  for  money ! 

July  22,  1778,  he  wrote  to  Lovell:  "When  we 
engaged  to  Congress  to  pay  their  bills  for  the 
interest  of  the  sums  they  could  borrow,  we  did 
not  dream  of  their  drawing  on  us  for  other  oc- 
casions. We  have  already  paid  of  Congress's 
drafts,  to  returned  officers,  82,211  livres;  and 
we  know  not  how  much  more  of  that  kind  we 
have  to  pay,  because  the  committee  have  never 
let  us  know  the  amount  of  those  drafts,  or  their 
account  of  them  never  reached  us,  and  they  still 
continue  coming  in.  And  we  are  now  surprised 
with  drafts  from  Mr.  B.  for  100,000  more.  If 
you  reduce  us  to  bankruptcy  here  by  a  non-pay- 
ment of  your  drafts,  consider  the  consequences. 


FINANCIERING  313 

In  my  humble  opinion  no  drafts  should  be  made 
on  us  without  first  learning  from  us  that  we  shall 
be  able  to  answer  them." 

Congress  could  not  fairly  exact  great  accuracy 
from  the  drawees  of  its  bills,  when  it  never  took 
pains  to  give  notice  of  the  facts  of  the  drawing, 
of  the  number  of  bills  drawn,  of  dates,  or  amounts; 
in  a  word,  really  gave  no  basis  for  account-keep- 
ing or  identification.  No  more  helter-skelter  way 
of  conducting  business  has  ever  been  seen  since 
modern  business  methods  were  invented.  The  sys- 
tem, if  system  it  may  be  called,  would  have  been 
aggravating  and  confusing  enough  under  any  con- 
dition of  attendant  circumstances;  but  it  so  hap- 
pened that  all  attendant  circumstances  tended  to 
increase  rather  than  to  mitigate  the  difficulties 
created  by  the  carelessness  of  Congress.  One  nat- 
urally fancies  that  a  nation  deals  in  few  and  large 
transactions,  that  these  drafts  may  have  been  for 
inconveniently  large  sums,  but  that  at  least  they 
probably  were  not  numerous.  The  precise  con- 
trary was  the  case.  The  drafts  were  countless,  and 
often  were  for  very  petty  amounts,  much  as  if  a 
prosperous  merchant  were  drawing  cheques  to  pay 
his  ordinary  expenses.  Further,  the  uncertainty 
of  the  passage  across  the  Atlantic  led  to  these 
bills  appearing  at  all  sorts  of  irregular  times; 
seconds  often  came  to  hand  before  firsts,  and 
thirds  before  either;  the  bills  were  often  very  old 
when  presented.  Knaves  took  advantage  of  these 
facts  fraudulently  to  alter  seconds  and  thirds  into 


314  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

firsts,  so  that  extreme  care  had  to  be  taken  to 
prevent  constant  duplication  and  even  triplication 
of  payments.  It  would  have  taken  much  of  the 
time  of  an  experienced  banker's  clerk  to  keep  the 
bill  and  draft  department  in  correct  shape.  It  is 
not  improbable  that  Congress  lost  a  good  deal  of 
money  by  undetected  rascalities,  but  if  so  the  fault 
lay  with  that  body  itself,  not  with  Franklin. 

Amid  the  harassments  of  these  demands,  Frank- 
lin was  much  vexed  by  the  conduct  of  Arthur 
Lee  and  Izard  in  drawing  money  for  their  own 
expenses.  In  February,  1778,  each  insisted  that 
he  should  be  allowed  a  credit  with  the  banker,  M. 
Grand,  to  an  amount  of  <£2000,  as  each  then 
expected  to  depart  on  a  mission.  Franklin  reluc- 
tantly assented,  and  was  then  astonished  and  in- 
dignant to  find  that  each  at  once  drew  out  the  full 
sum  from  the  national  account;  yet  neither  went 
upon  his  journey.  In  January,  1779,  Izard  ap- 
plied for  more.  Franklin's  anger  was  stirred; 
Izard  was  a  man  of  handsome  private  property, 
and  was  rendering  no  service  in  Paris;  and  his 
requirements  seemed  to  Franklin  eminently  unpa- 
triotic and  exorbitant.  He  therefore  refused  the 
request,  writing  to  Izard  a  letter  which  is  worth 
quoting,  both  from  the  tone  of  its  patriotic  appeal 
and  as  a  vivid  sketch  of  the  situation :  — 

"  Your  intimation  that  you  expect  more  money  from 
us  obliges  us  to  expose  to  you  our  circumstances.  Upon 
the  supposition  that  Congress  had  borrowed  in  America 
but  $5,000,000,  and  relying  on  the  remittances  intended 


FINANCIERING  315 

to  be  sent  to  us  for  answering  other  demands,  we  gave 
expectations  that  we  should  be  able  to  pay  here  the  in- 
terest of  that  sum  as  a  means  of  supporting  the  credit  of 
the  currency.  The  Congress  have  borrowed  near  twice 
that  sum,  and  are  now  actually  drawing  on  us  for  the 
interest,  the  bills  appearing  here  daily  for  acceptance. 
Their  distress  for  money  in  America  has  been  so  great 
from  the  enormous  expense  of  the  war  that  they  have 
also  been  induced  to  draw  on  us  for  very  large  sums  to 
stop  other  pressing  demands  ;  and  they  have  not  been 
able  to  purchase  remittances  for  us  to  the  extent  they 
proposed ;  and  of  what  they  have  sent,  much  has  been 
taken,  or  treacherously  carried  into  England,  only  two 
small  cargoes  of  tobacco  having  arrived,  and  they  are 
long  since  mortgaged  to  the  Farmers  General,  so  that 
they  produce  us  nothing,  but  leave  us  expenses  to  pay. 

"  The  continental  vessels  of  war  which  come  to  France 
have  likewise  required  great  sums  of  us  to  furnish  and 
refit  them  and  supply  the  men  with  necessaries.  The 
prisoners,  too,  who  escape  from  England  claim  a  very 
expensive  assistance  from  us,  and  are  much  dissatisfied 
with  the  scanty  allowance  we  are  able  to  afford  them. 
The  interest  bills  above  mentioned,  of  the  drawing  of 
which  we  have  received  notice,  amount  to  $2,500,000, 
and  we  have  not  a  fifth  part  of  the  sum  in  our  banker's 
hands  to  answer  them  ;  and  large  orders  to  us  from 
Congress  for  supplies  of  clothing,  arms,  and  ammunition 
remain  uncomplied  with  for  want  of  money. 

"  In  this  situation  of  our  affairs,  we  hope  you  will  not 
insist  on  our  giving  you  a  farther  credit  with  our  banker, 
with  whom  we  are  daily  in  danger  of  having  no  farther 
credit  ourselves.  It  is  not  a  year  since  you  received 
from  us  the  sum  of  2000  guineas,  which  you  thought 


316  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

necessary  on  account  of  your  being  to  set  out  immedi- 
ately for  Florence.  You  have  not  incurred  the  expense 
of  that  journey.  You  are  a  gentleman  of  fortune.  You 
did  not  come  to  France  with  any  dependence  on  being 
maintained  here  with  your  family  at  the  expense  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  time  of  their  distress,  and  without 
rendering  them  the  equivalent  service  they  expected. 

"  On  all  these  considerations  we  should  rather  hope 
that  you  would  be  willing  to  reimburse  us  the  sum  we 
have  advanced  to  you,  if  it  may  be  done  with  any  pos- 
sible convenience  to  your  affairs.  Such  a  supply  would 
at  least  enable  us  to  relieve  more  liberally  our  unfortu- 
nate countrymen,  who  have  long  been  prisoners,  stripped 
of  everything,  of  whom  we  daily  expect  to  have  nearly 
three  hundred  upon  our  hands  by  the  exchange." 

At  this  same  time  Franklin  wrote  to  Congress 
to  explain  how  it  had  happened  that  so  large  a 
sum  as  £4000  had  been  allowed  to  these  gentle- 
men; for  he  feared  that  this  liberality  might 
"subject  the  commissioners  to  censure."  The 
explanation  was  so  discreditable  to  Lee  and  Izard 
that  it  is  charitable  to  think  that  there  was  some 
misunderstanding  between  the  parties.1  The  mat- 
ter naturally  rankled,  and  in  May  Franklin  wrote 
that  there  was  much  anger  against  him,  that  he 
was  charged  with  "disobeying  an  order  of  Con- 
gress, and  with  cruelly  attempting  to  distress  gen- 
tlemen who  were  in  the  service  of  their  country." 

"  They  have  indeed,"  he  said,  "  produced  to  me  a  re- 
solve of  Congress  empowering  them  to  draw  .  .  .  for 

1  See  Franklin's  Works,  vi.  294. 


FINANCIERING  317 

their  expenses  at  foreign  courts  ;  and  doubtless  Congress, 
when  that  resolve  was  made,  intended  to  enable  us  to 
pay  those  drafts  ;  but  as  that  has  not  been  done,  and 
the  gentlemen  (except  Mr.  Lee  for  a  few  weeks)  have 
not  incurred  any  expense  at  foreign  courts,  and,  if  they 
had,  the  5500  guineas  received  by  them  in  about  nine 
months  seemed  an  ample  provision  for  it,  ...  I  do  not 
conceive  that  I  disobeyed  an  order  of  Congress,  and 
that  if  I  did  the  circumstances  will  excuse  it.  .  .  .  In 
short,  the  dreadful  consequences  of  ruin  to  our  public 
credit,  both  in  America  and  Europe,  that  must  attend 
the  protesting  a  single  Congress  draft  for  interest,  after 
our  funds  were  out,  would  have  weighed  with  me  against 
the  payment  of  more  money  to  those  gentlemen,  if  the 
demand  had  otherwise  been  well  founded.  I  am,  how- 
ever, in  the  judgment  of  Congress,  and  if  I  have  done 
amiss,  must  submit  dutifully  to  their  censure." 

Burgoyne's  surrender  had  a  market  value;  it 
was  worth  ready  money  in  France  and  Spain. 
Upon  the  strength  of  it  the  former  lent  the  States 
3,000,000  livres;  and  the  like  amount  was  en- 
gaged for  by  Spain.  But,  says  Bancroft,  "when 
Arthur  Lee,  who  was  equally  disesteemed  in  Ver- 
sailles and  Madrid,  heard  of  the  money  expected 
of  Spain,  he  talked  and  wrote  so  much  about  it 
that  the  Spanish  government,  who  wished  to  avoid 
a  rupture  with  England,  took  alarm,  and  receded 
from  its  intention."1 

In  February  and  March,  1779,  came  demands 
from  the  officers  of  the  frigate  Alliance  for  their 

1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  8.  ix.  480. 


318  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

pay;  but  Franklin  was  "neither  furnished  with 
money  nor  authority  for  such  purposes."  It 
seemed,  however,  too  hard  to  tell  these  gallant 
fellows,  whose  perilous  and  useful  service  was  in 
European  waters,  that  they  could  not  have  a 
dollar  until  they  should  get  safely  back  to  the 
States;  so  Franklin  agreed  to  pay  for  one  suit  of 
clothes  for  each  of  them.  But  he  begged  them 
to  be  as  "frugal  as  possible,"  and  not  make  them- 
selves "expensively  fine  "  from  a  notion  that  it  was 
for  the  honor  of  the  State,  which  could  be  better 
promoted  in  more  sensible  ways. 

May  26,  1779,  he  complains  to  the  committee 
of  foreign  affairs  that,  whereas  the  commissioners 
had  agreed  to  find  in  Paris  means  of  paying  in- 
terest on  a  loan  of  15,000,000,  that  loan  had  been 
doubled,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  they  had  been 
"drained  by  a  number  of  unforeseen  expenses," 
including  "orders  and  drafts  "  of  Congress.  "And 
now,"  he  says,  "the  drafts  of  the  treasurer  of  the 
loans  coming  very  fast  upon  me,  the  anxiety  I 
have  suffered  and  the  distress  of  mind  lest  I 
"hould  not  be  able  to  pay  them,  have  for  a  long 
time  been  very  great  indeed.  To  apply  again  to 
this  court  for  money  for  a  particular  purpose, 
which  they  had  already  over  and  over  again  pro- 
vided for  and  furnished  us,  was  extremely  awk- 
ward." One  would  think  so,  indeed!  So  he  fell 
back  on  a  "general  application  "  made  some  time 
before,  and  received  naturally  the  general  answer 
that  France  herself  was   being  put  to  enormous 


FINANCIERING  319 

expenses,  which  were  aiding  the  States  as  effi- 
ciently as  a  direct  loan  of  money  could  do.  The 
most  he  could  extort  was  the  king's  guaranty  for 
the  payment  of  the  interest  on  $3, 000, 000,  pro- 
vided that  sum  could  be  raised  in  Holland.  The 
embarrassing  fact  was  that  the  plea  of  poverty 
advanced  by  the  French  government  was  perfectly 
valid.  Turgot  said  so,  and  no  man  knew  better 
than  Turgot.  He  had  lately  told  the  king  that 
even  on  a  peace  footing  the  annual  expenditures 
exceeded  the  annual  receipts  of  the  exchequer  by 
20,000,000  livres;  and  he  even  talked  seriously 
of  an  avowal  of  national  bankruptcy.  The  events 
preceding  the  French  Revolution  soon  proved  that 
this  great  statesman  did  not  exaggerate  the  ill 
condition  of  affairs.  Yet  instead  of  practicing 
rigid  prudence  and  economy,  France  had  actually 
gone  into  a  costly  war  for  the  benefit  of  America. 
It  was  peculiarly  disagreeable  to  be  ceaselessly 
appealing  for  money  to  an  impoverished  friend. 

Another  vexation  was  found  in  the  way  in 
which  the  agents  of  the  various  individual  States 
soon  began  to  scour  Europe  in  quest  of  money. 
First  they  applied  to  Franklin,  and  "seemed  to 
think  it  his  duty  as  minister  for  the  United  States 
to  support  and  enforce  their  particular  demands." 
But  the  foreigners,  probably  not  understanding 
these  separate  autonomies,  did  not  relish  these 
requisitions,  and  Franklin  found  that  he  could  do 
nothing.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  hampered  in 
effecting  loans  on  the  national  credit;  for  these 


320  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

state  agents,  hurrying  clamorously  hither  and 
thither,  gave  an  impression  of  poverty  and  injured 
the  reputation  of  the  country,  which,  indeed,  was 
already  low  enough  upon  the  exchanges  without 
any  such  gratuitous  impairment. 

February  19,  1780,  there  was  an  application 
from  John  Paul  Jones  for  money  for  repairs  on 
his  ships.  Franklin  approved  keeping  the  vessels 
in  serviceable  condition,  but  added:  uLet  me 
repeat,  for  God's  sake  be  sparing,  unless  you 
mean  to  make  me  a  bankrupt,  or  have  your  drafts 
dishonored  for  want  of  money  in  my  hands  to  pay 
them." 

May  31,  1780,  he  complains  that  he  has  been 
reproached  by  one  of  the  congressional  agents 
whose  unauthorized  drafts  he  had  refused.  He 
has  been  drawn  upon  by  Congress,  he  says,  for 
much  more  than  the  interest,  which  only  he  had 
agreed  to  furnish,  and  he  has  answered  every 
demand,  and  supported  their  credit  in  Europe. 
"  But  if  every  agent  of  Congress  in  different  parts 
of  the  world  is  permitted  to  run  in  debt,  and  draw 
upon  me  at  pleasure  to  support  his  credit,  under 
the  idea  of  its  being  necessary  to  do  so  for  the 
honor  of  Congress,  the  difficulty  upon  me  will  be 
too  great,  and  I  may  in  fine  be  obliged  to  protest 
the  interest  bills.  I  therefore  beg  that  a  stop 
may  be  put  to  such  irregular  proceedings."  It 
was  a  reasonable  prayer,  but  had  no  effect.  Frank- 
lin continued  to  be  regarded  as  paymaster-general 
for  the  States  in  Europe. 


FINANCIERING  321 

We  next  hear  of  his  troubles  in  paying  the  bills 
which  Congress,  according  to  its  usual  custom, 
was  drawing  upon  Jay.  They  sent  Jay  to  Spain, 
and  told  him  to  borrow  money  there ;  and  as  soon 
as  they  had  got  him  fairly  at  sea,  they  began 
drawing  drafts  upon  him.  He  soon  found  him- 
self, as  he  said,  in  a  "cruel  situation,''  and  the 
torture  of  mind  which  he  endured  and  the  respon- 
sibility which  he  assumed  are  well  known.  He 
courageously  accepted  the  bills,  trusting  to  Provi- 
dence and  to  Franklin,  who  seemed  the  agent  of 
Providence,  to  arrange  for  their  payment.  Frank- 
lin did  not  fail  him.  One  of  Jay's  earliest  letters 
to  Franklin  said:  "I  have  no  reason  as  yet  to 
think  a  loan  here  will  be  practicable.  Bills  on 
me  arrive  daily.  Be  pleased  to  send  me  a  credit 
for  the  residue  of  our  salaries."  Five  days  later: 
"Bills  to  the  amount  of  $100,000  have  arrived. 
A  loan  cannot  be  effected  here."  And  so  on. 
In  April,  1781,  his  appeal  became  pathetic:  "Our 
situation  here  is  daily  becoming  more  disagreeable 
from  the  want  of  our  salaries;  to  be  obliged  to 
contract  debts  and  live  on  credit  is  terrible.  I 
have  not  to  this  day  received  a  shilling  from 
America,  and  we  should  indeed  have  been  greatly 
distressed,  had  it  not  been  for  your  good  offices." 
An  American  minister  without  resources  to  pay 
his  butcher  and  his  grocer,  his  servant  and  his 
tailor,  presented  a  spectacle  which  moved  Frank- 
lin to  great  efforts  !  In  plain  truth,  Jay  and 
his  secretary,    Carmichael,   were  dependent   upon 


322  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

Franklin  for  everything;  they  not  only  drew  on 
him  for  their  salaries  to  pay  daily  household  ex- 
penses, but  they  sent  him  lists  of  the  bills  accepted 
by  them  for  the  "honor  of  Congress,"  and  which 
they  had  no  means  of  paying.  It  was  fortunate 
that  these  two  men  were  willing  to  incur  such 
peril  and  anxiety  in  behalf  of  this  same  "honor  of 
Congress,"  which  otherwise  would  soon  have  been 
basely  discredited;  for  that  body  itself  was  su- 
perbly indifferent  on  the  subject,  and  did  not 
pretend  to  keep  faith  even  with  its  own  agents. 

Thus  matters  continued  to  the  end.  Congress 
pledged  itself  not  to  draw  bills,  and  immediately 
drew  them  in  batches.  Jay  could  report  to  Frank- 
lin only  scant  and  reluctant  promises  won  from 
the  Spanish  court;  and  small  as  these  engagements 
were,  they  were  ill  kept.  Perhaps  they  could  not 
be  kept;  for,  as  Jay  wrote,  there  was  "little  coin 
in  Egypt,"  the  country  was  really  poor.  So  the 
end  of  it  always  was  that  Franklin  remained  as 
the  only  resource  for  payments,  to  be  made  week 
after  week,  of  all  sorts  of  sums  ranging  from  little 
bills  upon  vessels  up  to  great  totals  of  $150,000 
or  1230,000  upon  bankers'  demands.  Such  was 
the  burden  of  a  song  which  had  many  more 'woeful 
stanzas  than  can  be  repeated  here. 

By  way  of  affording  some  sort  of  encouragement 
to  the  French  court,  Franklin  now  proposed  that 
the  United  States  government  should  furnish  the 
French  fleet  and  forces  in  the  States  with  provi- 
sions,  of  which  the  cost  could  be  offset,   to  the 


FINANCIERING  323 

small  extent  that  it  would  go,  against  French 
loans.  It  seemed  a  satisfactory  arrangement,  and 
France  assented  to  it. 

At  the  same  time  he  wrote  to  Adams  that  he 
had  "long  been  humiliated  with  the  idea  of  our 
running  about  from  court  to  court  begging  for 
money  and  friendship,  which  are  the  more  with- 
held the  more  eagerly  they  are  solicited,  and 
would  perhaps  have  been  offered  if  they  had  not 
been  asked.  The  proverb  says,  God  helps  them 
that  help  themselves;  and  the  world  too,  in  this 
sense,  is  very  godly."  This  was  an  idea  to  which 
he  more  than  once  recurred.  In  March,  1782, 
in  the  course  of  a  long  letter  to  Livingston,  he 
said:  "A  small  increase  of  industry  in  every 
American,  male  and  female,  with  a  small  diminu- 
tion of  luxury,  would  produce  a  sum  far  superior 
to  all  we  can  hope  to  beg  or  borrow  from  all  our 
friends  in  Europe."  He  reiterated  the  same  views 
again  in  March,  and  again  in  December,  and 
doubtless  much  oftener.1  No  man  was  more  ear- 
nest in  the  doctrine  that  every  individual  Ameri- 
can owed  his  strenuous  and  unremitting  personal 
assistance  to  the  cause.  It  was  a  practical  as 
well  as  a  noble  patriotism  which  he  felt,  preached, 
and  exemplified ;  and  it  was  thoroughly  character- 
istic of  the  man. 

What  was  then  the  real  financial  capacity  of 
the  people,  and  whether  they  did  their  utmost  in 
the  way  of  raising  money  to  support  the  Revolu- 

1  Franklin's  Works,  vii.  404 ;  viii.  236. 


I 


324  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

tion,  is  a  question  about  which  it  is  easy  to  express 
an  opinion,  but  difficult  to  prove  its  accuracy  by 
convincing  evidence.  On  the  one  hand,  it  is  true 
that  the  strain  was  extreme  and  that  much  was 
done  to  meet  it;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  no  less 
true  that  even  beneath  this  stress  the  national 
prosperity  actually  made  a  considerable  advance 
during  the  war.  The  people  as  a  whole  gathered 
money  rather  than  impoverished  themselves.  In 
the  country  at  large  the  commercial  instinct  fully 
held  its  own  in  competition  with  the  spirit  of 
independence.  There  was  not  much  forswearing 
of  little  luxuries.  Franklin  said  that  he  learned 
by  inquiry  that  of  the  interest  money  which  was 
disbursed  in  Paris  most  was  laid  out  for  "super- 
fluities, and  more  than  half  of  it  for  tea."  He 
computed  that  £500,000  were  annually  expended 
in  the  States  for  tea  alone.  This  sum,  "annually 
laid  out  in  defending  ourselves  or  annoying  our 
enemies,  would  have  great  effect.  With  what 
face  can  we  ask  aids  and  subsidies  from  our 
friends,  while  we  are  wasting  our  own  wealth  in 
such  prodigality?  " 

Henry  Laurens,  dispatched  as  minister  to  the 
Hague  in  1780,  was  captured  on  the  voyage  and 
carried  into  England.  But  this  little  incident 
mattered  not  at  all  to  the  Congress,  which  for 
a  long  while  cheerfully  drew  a  great  number  of 
bills  upon  the  poor  gentleman,  who,  held  in  the 
Tower  of  London  as  a  traitor,  was  hardly  in  a 
position  to  negotiate  large  loans   for   his   fellow 


FINANCIERING  325 

"rebels."  In  October,  1780,  these  bills  began 
to  flutter  down  upon  Franklin's  desk,  drawn  by 
a  sort  of  natural  gravitation.  He  felt  "obliged 
to  accept  them,"  and  said  that  he  should  "with 
some  difficulty  be  able  to  pay  them,  though  these 
extra  demands  often  embarrass  me  exceedingly." 

November  19,  1780,  he  wrote  to  de  Vergennes 
announcing  that  Congress  had  notified  him  of 
drafts  to  the  amount  of  about  1,400,000  livres 
(about  $280,000).  The  reply  was:  "You  can 
easily  imagine  my  astonishment  at  your  request 
of  the  necessary  funds  to  meet  these  drafts,  since 
you  perfectly  well  know  the  extraordinary  efforts 
which  I  have  made  thus  far  to  assist  you  and 
support  your  credit,  and  especially  since  you  can- 
not have  forgotten  the  demands  you  lately  made 
upon  me.  Nevertheless,  sir,  I  am  very  desirous 
of  assisting  you  out  of  the  embarrassed  situation 
in  which  these  repeated  drafts  of  Congress  have 
placed  you;  and  for  this  purpose  I  shall  endeavor 
to  procure  for  you,  for  the  next  year,  the  same 
aid  that  I  have  been  able  to  furnish  in  the  course 
of  the  present.  I  cannot  but  believe,  sir,  that 
Congress  will  faithfully  abide  by  what  it  now 
promises  you,  that  in  future  no  drafts  shall  be 
made  upon  you  unless  the  necessary  funds  are 
sent  to  meet  them." 

Such  a  letter,  though  only  gratitude  could  be 
felt  for  it,  must  have  stung  the  sensitiveness  of 
Franklin,  who  had  already  a  great  national  pride. 
Nor  was  the  pain  likely  to  be  assuaged  by  the 


326  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

conduct  of  Congress;  for  that  body  had  not  the 
slightest  idea  of  keeping  the  promises  upon  which 
de  Vergennes  expressed  a  reliance  perhaps  greater 
than  he  really  felt.  It  is  not  without  annoyance, 
even  now,  that  one  reads  that  only  two  days  after 
the  French  minister  wrote  this  letter,  Congress 
instructed  Franklin  to  do  some  more  begging  for 
clothes,  and  for  the  aid  of  a  fleet,  and  said: 
"With  respect  to  the  loan,  we  foresee  that  the 
sum  which  we  ask  will  be  greatly  inadequate  to 
our  wants." 

December  2,  1780,  Franklin  acknowledges  "fa- 
vors," a  conventional  phrase  which  seems  sarcas- 
tic. These  tell  him  that  Congress  has  resolved 
to  draw  on  him  "bills  extraordinary,  to  the 
amount  of  near  1300,000."  These  were  doubt- 
less what  led  to  the  foregoing  correspondence  with 
de  Vergennes.  In  reply  he  says  that  he  has 
already  engaged  himself  for  the  bills  drawn  on 
Mr.  Laurens,  and  adds:  "You  cannot  conceive 
how  much  these  things  perplex  and  distress  me; 
for  the  practice  of  this  government  being  yearly 
to  apportion  the  revenue  to  the  several  expected 
services,  any  after  demands  made,  which  the  trea- 
sury is  not  furnished  to  supply,  meet  with  great 
difficulty,  and  are  very  disagreeable  to  the  min- 
isters." 

A  short  fragment  of  a  diary  kept  in  1781  gives 
a  painful  vision  of  the  swarm  of  bills :  — 

"  Jan.  6.  Accepted  a  number  of  loan  office  bills  this 
day,  and  every  day  of  the  past  week. 


FINANCIERING  327 

"  Sunday,  Jan.  7.  Accepted  a  vast  number  of  loan 
office  bills.     Some  of  the  new  drafts  begin  to  appear. 

"  Jan.  8.     Accepted  many  bills. 

"  Jan.  10th.  Informed  that  my  recall  is  to  be  moved 
for  in  Congress. 

"  Jan.  12th.  Sign  acceptation  [qu.  "  of  "  ?  mutilated] 
many  bills.     They  come  thick. 

"  Jan.  15th.  Accepted  above  200  bills,  some  of  the 
new. 

"Jan.  17th.     Accepted  many  bills. 

"  Jan.  22d.  M.  Grand  informs  me  that  Mr.  Williams 
has  drawn  on  me  for  25,000  livres ;  .  .  .  I  order  pay- 
ment of  his  drafts. 

"  Jan.  24th.     A  great  number  of  bills. 

"  Jan.  26th.     Accept  bills." 

February  13  he  writes  a  general  begging  and 
stimulating  letter  to  de  Vergennes.  He  says  that 
the  plain  truth  is  that  the  present  situation  in  the 
States  "makes  one  of  two  things  essential  to  us 
—  a  peace,  or  the  most  vigorous  aid  of  our  allies, 
particularly  in  the  article  of  money.  .  .  .  The 
present  conjuncture  is  critical ;  there  is  some  dan- 
ger lest  the  Congress  should  lose  its  influence  over 
the  people,  if  it  is  found  unable  to  procure  the 
aids  that  are  wanted;  "  and  in  that  case  the  oppor- 
tunity for  separation  is  gone,  "perhaps  for  ages." 
A  few  days  later  he  was  "under  the  necessity  of 
being  importunate  for  an  answer  to  the  applica- 
tion lately  made  for  stores  and  money."  De 
Vergennes  replied,  in  an  interview,  that  Franklin 
must  know  that  for  France  to  lend  the  25,000,000 


328  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

livres  asked  for  was  "at  present  impracticable/5 
Also  his  excellency  mentioned  other  uncomfortable 
and  distasteful  facts,  but  concluded  by  saying  that 
the  king,  as  a  "signal  proof  of  his  friendship," 
would  make  a  free  gift  of  6,000,000  livres,  in 
addition  to  3,000,000  recently  furnished  for  inter- 
est drafts.  But  the  French  court  had  at  last  so 
far  lost  confidence  in  Congress  that  in  order  to 
make  sure  that  this  money  should  be  applied  in 
aid  of  the  army,  and  not  be  vaguely  absorbed 
by  committees,  a  stipulation  was  inserted  that  it 
should  be  paid  only  upon  the  order  of  General 
Washington.  This  was  a  trifle  insulting  to  Con- 
gress, and  made  trouble;  and  it  seems  that  ulti- 
mately the  sum  was  intrusted  to  Franklin. 

Almost  immediately  afterward  he  extorted  from 
Necker  an  agreement  that  the  king  of  France 
would  guaranty  a  loan  of  10,000,000  livres,  if  it 
could  be  raised  in  Holland;  and  upon  these  terms 
he  was  able  to  raise  this  sum.  Trouble  enough 
the  possession  of  it  soon  gave  him;  for  the  de- 
mands for  it  were  numerous.  Franklin  needed 
it  to  keep  himself  solvent  in  Europe;  Congress 
greedily  sought  it  for  America;  William  Jackson, 
who  was  buying  supplies  in  Holland,  required 
much  of  it  there.  Franklin  was  expected  to  re- 
peat with  it  the  miracle  of  the  loaves  and  fishes. 
2,500,000  livres  he  sent  to  the  States  in  the 
same  ship  which  carried  John  Laurens.  2,200,000 
Laurens  disposed  of  in  purchasing  goods;  1,500,- 
000  were  sent  to  Holland  to  be  thence  sent  to  the 


. 


FINANCIERING  329 

States  in  another  ship,  so  as  to  divide  the  risk. 
But  while  he  thus  took  care  of  others,  he  himself 
was  drawn  upon  by  Jackson  for  <£50,000;  and  at 
the  same  time  he  was  expected  to  provide  for  all 
the  bills  accepted  by  Laurens,  Jay,  and  Adams, 
and  now  rapidly  maturing.  He  sent  in  haste  to 
Holland  to  detain  the  1,500,000  livres  in  transitu. 
"I  am  sorry,"  he  said,  "that  this  operation  is 
necessary;  but  it  must  be  done,  or  the  conse- 
quences will  be  terrible." 

Laurens  and  Jackson,  however,  in  Holland,  had 
been  actually  spending  this  sum,  and  more.  "I 
applaud  the  zeal  you  have  both  shown  in  the 
affair,"  said  the  harassed  doctor,  "but  I  see  that 
nobody  cares  how  much  I  am  distressed,  provided 
they  can  carry  their  own  points."  Fortunately 
the  money  still  lay  in  the  hands  of  the  banker, 
and  there  Franklin  stopped  it;  whereupon  Jack- 
son fell  into  extreme  rage,  and  threatened  some 
sort  of  a  "proceeding,"  which  Franklin  said  would 
only  be  exceedingly  imprudent,  useless,  and  scan- 
dalous. "The  noise  rashly  made  about  this  mat- 
ter "  by  Jackson  naturally  injured  American  credit 
in  Holland,  and  especially  rendered  unmarketable 
his  own  drafts  upon  Franklin.  In  these  straits 
he  journeyed  to  Paris  to  see  Franklin,  represented 
that  his  goods  were  on  board  ship;  that  they 
were  articles  much  needed  in  America;  that  they 
must  be  paid  for,  or  else  relanded  and  returned, 
or  sold,  which  would  be  a  public  disgrace.  So 
Franklin  was  prevailed  upon  to  engage  for  the 


330  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

payment,  and  was  "obliged  to  go  with  this  after- 
clap  to  the  ministers,"  a  proceeding  especially 
disagreeable  because,  as  he  said,  "the  money  was 
to  be  paid  for  the  manufactures  of  other  countries 
and  not  laid  out  in  those  of  this  kingdom,  by 
whose  friendship  it  was  furnished."  He  was  at 
first  "absolutely  refused,"  but  in  time  prevailed, 
and  "hoped  the  difficulty  was  over."  Not  at  all! 
After  all  this  exertion  and  annoyance,  the  officers 
of  the  ship  said  she  was  overloaded,  and  turned 
out  a  large  part  of  the  goods,  which  were  accord- 
ingly put  into  two  other  ships;  and  then  Franklin 
was  offered  the  option  of  buying  these  two  vessels, 
of  hiring  them  at  a  freight  scarcely  less  than  their 
value,  or  of  having  the  goods  again  set  on  shore. 
He  was  now  "ashamed  to  show  his  face  to  the 
minister,"  and  was  casting  about  for  resources, 
when  suddenly  he  was  surprised  by  new  demands 
to  pay  for  the  goods  which  he  had  every  reason 
to  believe  had  already  been  paid  for.  This  pro- 
duced such  a  dispute  and  complication  that  the 
goods  remained  long  in  Holland  before  affairs 
could  be  arranged,  and  the  final  settlement  is  not 
clearly  to  be  made  out. 

In  the  spring  of  1781  John  Adams  was  in 
Holland,  and  of  course  Congress  was  drawing 
bills  upon  him,  and  equally  of  course  he  had  not 
a  stiver  with  which  to  meet  them.  He  had 
"opened  a  loan,"  but  so  little  had  fallen  into  the 
opening  that  he  was  barely  able  to  pay  expenses ; 
30,  still  of  course,  he  turned  to  Franklin:  "When 


FINANCIERING  331 

they  [the  bills]  arrive  and  are  presented  I  must 
write  to  you  concerning  them,  and  desire  you  to 
enable  me  to  discharge  them."  He  added  that  it 
was  a  "grievous  mortification  to  find  that  America 
has  no  credit  here,  while  England  certainly  still 
has  so  much."  Apparently  the  pamphlet  in  which 
Franklin  had  so  convincingly  shown  that  the  re- 
verse of  this  should  be  the  case  had  not  satisfied 
the  minds  of  the  Dutch  bankers. 

In  July,  1781,  came  a  broad  hint  from  Robert 
Morris :  "  I  will  not  doubt  a  moment  that,  at  your 
instance,  his  majesty  will  make  pressing  represen- 
tations in  support  of  Mr.  Jay's  application,  and 
I  hope  that  the  authority  of  so  great  a  sovereign 
and  the  arguments  of  his  able  ministry  will  shed 
auspicious  influence  on  our  negotiations  at  Ma- 
drid." This  fulsome  language,  intended  of  course 
to  be  read  to  de  Vergennes,  imposed  the  gratify- 
ing duty  of  begging  the  French  minister  to  second 
American  begging  in  Spain. 

In  the  same  month  Franklin  wrote  to  Morris 
that  the  French  were  vexed  at  the  purchasing  of 
goods  in  Holland,  and  would  not  furnish  the 
money  to  pay  for  them,  and  he  actually  suggested 
a  remittance  from  America!  "Otherwise  I  shall 
be  ruined,  with  the  American  credit  in  Europe." 
He  might  have  had  some  motive  besides  patriotism 
in  thus  uniting  himself  with  the  credit  of  his 
country;  for  he  had  been  warned  that  the  consul's 
court  in  Paris  had  power  even  over  the  persons  of 
foreign  ministers  in  the  case  of  bills  of  exchange. 


332  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

September  12,  1781,  he  announces  triumph- 
antly that  "the  remittances  .  .  .  which  I  re- 
quested are  now  unnecessary,  and  I  shall  finish 
the  year  with  honor,"  notwithstanding  "drafts  on 
Mr.  Jay  and  on  Mr.  Adams  much  exceeding  what 
I  had  been  made  to  expect." 

He  was  now  informed  that  Congress  would  not 
draw  upon  other  ministers  without  providing 
funds,  but  that  they  would  continue  to  draw  on 
him  "funds  or  no  funds,"  an  invidious  distinction 
which  "terrified"  him;  for  he  had  been  obliged 
to  promise  de  Vergennes  not  to  accept  any  drafts 
drawn  later  than  March,  1781,  unless  he  should 
have  in  hand  or  in  view  funds  sufficient  to  pay 
them.  But  before  long  he  began  to  suspect  that 
Congress  could  outwit  the  French  minister.  For 
so  late  as  January,  1782,  bills  dated  prior  to  the 
preceding  April  were  still  coming;  and  he  said: 
"I  begin  to  suspect  that  the  drawing  continues, 
and  that  the  bills  are  antedated.  It  is  impossible 
for  me  to  go  on  with  demands  after  demands." 
The  next  month  also  found  these  old  bills  on 
Laurens  still  coming  in.  Congress  never  let  the 
ministers  know  how  many  bills  it  was  drawing, 
perhaps  fearing  to  discourage  them  by  so  appall- 
ing a  disclosure.  Franklin  now  wrote  to  Adams : 
"Perhaps  from  the  series  of  numbers  and  the 
deficiencies  one  may  be  able  to  divine  the  sum 
that  has  been  issued."  Moreover,  he  reflects  that 
he  has  never  had  any  instructions  to  pay  the 
acceptances  of  Jay  and  Adams,  nor  has  had  any 


FINANCIERING  333 

ratification  of  his  payments ;  neither  had  he  "  ever 
received  a  syllable  of  approbation  for  having  done 
so.  Thus  I  stand  charged  with  vast  sums  which 
I  have  disbursed  for  the  public  service  without 
authority."  The  thought  might  cause  some  anx- 
iety, in  view  of  the  moral  obliquity  manifested  by 
Congress  in  all  its  financial  dealings. 

In  November,  1781,  came  a  long  letter  from 
Livingston;  everything  was  wanted;  but  espe- 
cially the  States  must  have  money!  December 
31,  a  day  that  often  brings  reflection  on  matters 
financial,  de  Vergennes  sent  a  brief  warning; 
1,000,000  livres,  which  had  been  promised,  Frank- 
lin should  have,  but  not  one  livre  more  under  any 
circumstances;  if  he  had  accepted,  or  should  ac- 
cept, Morris's  drafts  in  excess  of  this  sum,  he 
must  trust  to  his  own  resources  to  meet  his  obliga- 
tions. Accordingly  on  January  9,  1782,  he  wrote 
to  Morris:  "Bills  are  still  coming  in  quantities. 
.  .  .  You  will  see  by  the  inclosed  letter  the  situa- 
tion I  am  at  last  brought  into.  ...  I  shall  be 
able  to  pay  till  the  end  of  February,  when,  if  I 
can  get  no  more  money,  I  must  stop." 

Ten  days  later  he  writes  to  Jay  that  his  solicita- 
tions make  him  appear  insatiable,  that  he  gets  no 
assurances  of  aid,  but  that  he  is  "very  sensible" 
of  Jay's  "unhappy  situation,"  and  therefore  man- 
ages to  send  him  130,000,  though  he  knows  not 
how  to  replace  it.  In  the  sad  month  of  March, 
1782,  Lafayette  nobly  helped  Franklin  in  the 
disagreeable  task  of  begging,  but  to  little  purpose ; 


334  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

for  at  length  there  seemed  a  general  determination 
to  furnish  no  more  money  to  the  States.  The 
fighting  was  over,  and  it  seemed  reasonable  that 
the  borrowing  should  be  over  likewise. 

In  February,  1782,  Franklin  says  that  Mr. 
Morris  supposes  him  to  have  a  sum  "  vastly  greater 
than  the  fact,"  and  has  "given  orders  far  beyond 
my  abilities  to  comply  with."  Franklin  was  re- 
garded as  a  miraculous  orange  which,  if  squeezed 
hard  enough,  would  always  yield  juice !  It  could 
not  have  been  reassuring,  either,  to  have  one  of 
the  American  agents  at  this  time  ask  to  have 
150,000  livres  advanced  to  him  at  once;  espe- 
cially since  the  frankly  provident  gentleman  based 
his  pressing  haste  upon  the  avowed  fear  that,  as 
business  was  going  on,  Franklin's  embarrassments 
in  money  matters  were  likely  to  increase. 

February  13,  1782,  Livingston  wrote  a  letter 
which  must  have  excited  a  grim  smile.  He  com- 
forts himself,  in  making  more  "importunate  de- 
mands," by  reflecting  that  it  is  all  for  the  good 
of  Finance !  which  thought,  he  says,  may  enable 
Franklin  to  "press  them  with  some  degree  of  dig- 
nity." Franklin's  sense  of  humor  was  touched. 
That  means,  he  says,  that  I  am  to  say  to  de  Ver- 
gennes :  "  Help  us,  and  we  shall  not  be  obliged  to 
you."  But  in  some  way  or  another,  probably  not 
precisely  in  this  eccentric  way,  he  so  managed  it 
that  in  March  he  wheedled  the  French  government 
into  still  another  and  a  large  loan  of  24,000,000 
livres  payable  quarterly  during  the  year.    March  9 


FINANCIERING  335 

he  informs  Morris  "  pretty  fully  of  the  state  of  our 
funds  here,  by  which  you  will  be  enabled  so  to 
regulate  your  drafts  as  that  our  credit  in  Europe 
may  not  be  ruined  and  your  friend  killed  with 
vexation." 

He  now  engaged  to  pay  all  the  drafts  which 
Jay  should  send  to  him,  so  that  Jay  could  extri- 
cate himself  honorably  from  those  dread  engage- 
ments which  had  been  giving  that  harassed  gentle- 
man infinite  anxiety  at  Madrid.  Some  of  his 
acceptances  had  already  gone  to  protest;  but 
Franklin  soon  took  them  all  up.  By  the  end  of 
March  he  began  to  breathe  more  freely;  he  had 
saved  himself  and  his  colleagues  thus  far  and 
now  he  hoped  that  the  worst  was  over.  He  wrote 
to  Morris:  "Your  promise  that  after  this  month 
no  more  bills  shall  be  drawn  on  me  keeps  up  my 
spirits  and  affords  me  the  greatest  satisfaction." 
By  the  following  summer  the  accounts  between 
France  and  the  States  were  in  course  of  liquida- 
tion, and  Franklin  called  the  attention  of  Living- 
ston to  the  fact  that  the  king  practically  made 
the  States  a  further  present  "to  the  value  of  near 
two  millions.  These,  added  to  the  free  gifts  be- 
fore made  to  us  at  different  times,  form  an  object 
of  at  least  twelve  millions,  for  which  no  returns 
but  that  of  gratitude  and  friendship  are  expected. 
These,  I  hope,  may  be  everlasting."  But  liquida- 
tion, though  a  necessary  preliminary  to  payment, 
is  not  payment,  and  does  not  preclude  a  continu- 
ance of  borrowing;    and  in  August  we  find  that 


336  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

Morris  was  still  pressing  for  more  money,  still 
drawing  drafts,  in  happy  forgetfulness  of  his 
promises  not  to  do  so,  and  still  keeping  Franklin 
in  anxious  dread  of  bankruptcy.  By  the  same 
letter  it  appears  that  Morris  had  directed  Franklin 
to  pay  over  to  M.  Grand,  the  banker,  any  surplus 
funds  in  his  hands!  "I  would  do  it  with  plea- 
sure, if  there  were  any  such,"  said  Franklin;  but 
the  question  was  still  of  a  deficit,  not  of  a  surplus. 
December  14,  1782,  finds  Franklin  still  at  the 
old  task,  preferring  "the  application  so  strongly 
pressed  by  the  Congress  for  a  loan  of  14,000,000." 
Lafayette  again  helped  him,  but  the  result  re- 
mained uncertain.  The  negotiations  for  peace  were 
so  far  advanced  that  the  ministers  thought  it  time 
for  such  demands  to  cease.  But  probably  he 
succeeded,  for  a  few  days  later  he  appears  to  be 
remitting  a  considerable  sum.  Peace,  however, 
was  at  hand,  and  in  one  respect  at  least  it  was 
peace  for  Franklin  as  well  as  for  his  country,  for 
even  Congress  could  no  longer  expect  him  to  con- 
tinue borrowing.  He  had  indeed  rendered  ser- 
vices not  less  gallant  though  less  picturesque  than 
those  of  Washington  himself,  vastly  more  disagree- 
able, and  scarcely  less  essential  to  the  success  of 
the  cause. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

HABITS   OF   LIFE   AND   OF   BUSINESS:   AN   ADAMS 
INCIDENT 

John  Adams  wielded  a  vivid  and  vicious  pen ; 
he  neglected  the  Scriptural  injunction:  "Judge 
not,"  and  he  set  honesty  before  charity  in  speech. 
His  judgments  upon  his  contemporaries  were  mer- 
ciless; they  had  that  kind  of  truthfulness  which 
precluded  contradiction,  yet  which  left  a  sense  of 
injustice;  they  were  at  once  accurate  and  unfair. 
His  strictures  concerning  Franklin  are  an  illustra- 
tion of  these  peculiarities.  What  he  said  is  of 
importance  because  he  said  it,  and  because  mem- 
bers of  the  Adams  family  in  successive  genera- 
tions, voluminous  contributors  to  the  history  of 
the  country,  have  never  divested  themselves  of 
the  inherited  enmity  toward  Franklin.  During 
Adams's  first  visit  to  France  the  relationship  be- 
tween him  and  Franklin  is  described  as  sufficiently 
friendly  rather  than  as  cordial.  December  7, 
1778,  in  a  letter  to  his  cousin  Samuel  Adams, 
John  thus  described  his  colleague :  — 

"  The  other  you  know  personally,  and  that  he  loves  his 
Ease,  hates  to  offend,  and  seldom  gives  any  opinion  till 
obliged  to  do  it.  I  know  also,  and  it  is  necessary  that 
you  should  be  informed,  that  he  is  overwhelmed  with  a 


338  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

correspondence  from  all  quarters,  most  of  them  upon 
trifling  subjects  and  in  a  more  trifling  style,  with  un- 
meaning visits  from  Multitudes  of  People,  chiefly  from 
the  Vanity  of  having  it  to  say  that  they  have  seen  him. 
There  is  another  thing  that  I  am  obliged  to  mention. 
There  are  so  many  private  families,  Ladies  and  gentle- 
men, that  he  visits  so  often,  —  and  they  are  so  fond  of 
him,  that  he  cannot  well  avoid  it,  —  and  so  much  inter- 
course with  Academicians,  that  all  these  things  together 
keep  his  mind  in  a  constant  state  of  dissipation.  If  in- 
deed you  take  out  of  his  hand  the  Public  Treasury  and 
the  direction  of  the  Frigates  and  Continental  vessels  that 
are  sent  here,  and  all  Commercial  affairs,  and  entrust 
them  to  Persons  to  be  appointed  by  Congress,  at  Nantes 
and  Bordeaux,  I  should  think  it  would  be  best  to  have 
him  here  alone,  with  such  a  Secretary  as  you  can  confide 
in.  But  if  he  is  left  here  alone,  even  with  such  a  secre- 
tary, and  all  maritime  and  Commercial  as  well  as  polit- 
ical affairs  and  money  matters  are  left  in  his  Hands,  I 
am  persuaded  that  France  and  America  will  both  have 
Reason  to  repent  it.  He  is  not  only  so  indolent  that 
Business  will  be  neglected,  but  you  know  that,  although 
he  has  as  determined  a  soul  as  any  man,  yet  it  is  his 
constant  Policy  never  to  say  '  yes '  or  '  no '  decidedly 
but  when  he  cannot  avoid  it." 

This  mischievous  letter,  not  actually  false,  yet 
misrepresenting  and  misleading,  has  unfortunately 
survived  to  injure  both  the  man  who  wrote  it  and 
the  man  about  whom  it  was  written.  It  is  quoted 
in  order  to  show  the  sort  of  covert  fire  in  the  rear 
to  which  Franklin  was  subjected  throughout  his 
term  of  service.     It  is  astonishing  now,  when  the 


HABITS  OF  LIFE  AND  OF  BUSINESS     339 

evidence  is  all  before  us  and  the  truth  is  attain- 
able, to  read  such  a  description  of  such  a  patriot 
as  Franklin,  a  man  who  went  through  labors  and 
anxieties  for  the  cause  probably  only  surpassed  by 
those  of  Washington,  and  whose  services  did  more 
to  promote  success  than  did  the  services  of  any 
other  save  only  Washington.  How  blind  was  the 
personal  prejudice  of  the  critic  who  saw  Franklin 
in  Paris  and  could  yet  suggest  that  the  charge  of 
the  public  treasury  should  be  taken  from  him! 
To  whom  else  would  the  Frenchmen  have  unlocked 
their  coffers  as  they  did  to  him,  whom  they  so 
warmly  liked  and  admired?  John  Adams  and 
Arthur  Lee  and  other  Americans  who  endeavored 
to  deal  with  the  French  court  got  themselves 
so  thoroughly  hated  there  that  little  aid  would 
have  been  forthcoming  at  the  request  of  such  re- 
presentatives. It  was  to  Franklin's  personal  influ- 
ence that  a  large  portion  of  the  substantial  help 
in  men,  ships,  and  especially  in  money,  accorded 
by  France  to  the  States,  was  due.  He  was  as 
much  the  right  man  in  Europe  as  was  Washing- 
ton in  America. 

Nevertheless  this  attribution  of  traits,  so  mali- 
ciously penned,  has  passed  into  history,  and  though 
the  world  does  not  see  that  either  France  or  the 
States  had  cause  "to  repent"  keeping  Franklin  in 
Paris  in  general  charge  of  affairs,  and  unwatched 
by  a  vigilant  secretary,  yet  all  the  world  believes 
that  in  the  gay  metropolis  Franklin  was  indolent  and 
given  over  to  social  pleasures,  which  flattered  his 


340  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

vanity.  Undoubtedly  there  is  foundation  in  fact 
for  the  belief.  But  to  arrive  at  a  just  conclu- 
sion one  must  consider  many  things.  The  char- 
acter of  the  chief  witness  is  as  important  as  that 
of  the  accused.  Adams,  besides  being  a  severe 
critic,  was  filled  to  the  brim  with  an  irrepressible 
activity,  an  insatiate  industry,  a  restlessness  and 
energy,  all  which  were  at  this  period  stimulated 
by  the  excitement  of  the  times  to  an  intensity 
excessive  and  abnormal  even  for  him.  To  him, 
in  this  condition  of  chronic  agitation,  the  serenity 
of  Franklin's  broad  intellect  and  tranquil  nature 
seemed  inexplicable  and  culpable.  But  Franklin 
had  what  Adams  lacked,  a  vast  experience  in  men 
and  affairs.  Adams  knew  the  provinces  and  the 
provincials;  Franklin  knew  the  provinces  and 
England  and  France,  the  provincials,  English- 
men, Frenchmen,  and  all  ranks  and  conditions  of 
men,  — journeymen,  merchants,  philosophers,  men 
of  letters,  diplomatists,  courtiers,  noblemen,  and 
statesmen.  The  one  was  an  able  colonist,  the 
other  was  a  man  of  the  world,  of  exceptionally 
wide  personal  experience  even  as  such.  Moreover 
Franklin's  undertakings  were  generally  crowned 
with  a  success  which  justifies  us  in  saying  that, 
however  much  or  little  exertion  he  visibly  put 
forth,  at  least  he  put  forth  enough.  Adams  some- 
times was  for  putting  forth  too  much.  Franklin, 
when  he  arrived  in  France,  was  in  his  seventy-first 
year;  his  health  was  in  the  main  good,  yet  his 
strength  had  been  severely  tried  by  his  journey 


HABITS   OF  LIFE   AND   OF  BUSINESS      341 

to  Canada  and  by  the  voyage.  He  was  troubled 
with  a  cutaneous  complaint,  of  which  he  makes 
light,  but  which  was  abundant  evidence  that  his 
physical  condition  was  far  from  perfect;  he  was 
a  victim  of  the  gout,  which  attacked  him  frequently 
and  with  great  severity,  so  that  he  was  often 
obliged  to  keep  his  bed  for  days  and  weeks ;  when 
he  was  appointed  sole  minister  of  the  States  to 
France  he  remarked  that  there  was  "some  incon- 
gruity in  a  plenipotentiary  who  could  neither 
stand  nor  go;"  later  on  he  suffered  extremely 
from  stone  and  gravel;  with  all  these  diseases, 
and  with  the  remorseless  disease  of  old  age  gain- 
ing ground  every  day,  it  is  hardly  surprising  that 
Franklin  seemed  to  the  hale  and  vigorous  Adams 
not  to  be  making  that  show  of  activity  which 
would  have  been  becoming  in  the  chief  represent- 
ative of  the  United  States  during  these  critical 
years.  Yet  except  that  he  was  careless  about  his 
papers  and  remiss  in  his  correspondence,  no  defi- 
nite allegations  are  made  against  him  prior  to  the 
treating  for  peace ;  no  business  of  importance  was 
ever  said  to  have  failed  in  his  hands,  which  should 
be  a  sufficient  vindication  of  his  general  efficiency. 
The  amount  of  labor  which  was  laid  upon  him  was 
enormous:  he  did  as  much  business  as  the  man- 
aging head  of  a  great  banking-house  and  a  great 
mercantile  firm  combined;  he  did  all  the  diplo- 
macy of  the  United  States;  he  was  also  their 
consul-general,  and  though  he  had  agents  in  some 
ports,  yet  they  more  often  gave  trouble  than  assist- 


342  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

ance;  after  the  commercial  treaty  with  France 
he  had  to  investigate  French  laws  and  tariffs  and 
give  constant  advice  to  American  merchants  upon 
all  sorts  of  questions  as  to  statutes,  trade,  customs, 
dues,  and  duties.  What  he  did  concerning  the 
warships,  the  privateers,  and  the  prizes  has  been 
hinted  at  rather  than  stated ;  what  he  did  in  the 
way  of  financiering  has  been  imperfectly  shown; 
he  was  often  engaged  in  planning  naval  operations 
either  for  Paul  Jones  and  others  in  European 
waters  or  for  the  French  fleet  in  American  waters. 
He  had  for  a  perpetual  annoyance  all  the  captious- 
ness  and  the  quarrels  of  the  two  Lees,  Izard,  and 
Thomas  Morris.  When  business  had  to  be  trans- 
acted, as  often  occurred,  with  states  at  whose 
courts  the  United  States  had  no  representative, 
Franklin  had  to  manage  it ; x  especially  he  was 
concerned  with  the  business  in  Spain,  whither  he 
would  have  journeyed  in  person  had  his  health 
and  other  engagements  permitted.  Moreover  he 
was  adviser-general  to  all  American  officials  of 
any  and  every  grade  and  function  in  Europe  ; 
and  much  as  some  of  these  gentlemen  contemned 
him,  they  each  and  all  instinctively  demanded  his 
guidance  in  every  matter  of  importance.  Even 
Arthur  Lee  deferred  to  him  rather  than  decide 
for  himself ;  Dana  sought  his  instructions  for  the 
mission  to  Russia;  men  of  the  calibre  of  Jay  and 
independent   John  Adams    sought   and   respected 

1  For  example,  with  Norway,  with  Denmark,  and  with  Por- 
tugal. 


HABITS  OF  LIFE  AND  OF  BUSINESS     343 

his  views  and  his  aid,  perhaps  more  than  they 
themselves  appreciated.  Surely  here  was  labor 
enough,  and  even  more  responsibility  than  labor; 
but  Franklin's  great,  well-trained  mind  worked 
with  the  ease  and  force  of  a  perfectly  regulated 
machine  whose  smoothness  of  action  almost  con- 
ceals its  power,  and  all  the  higher  parts  of  his 
labor  were  achieved  with  little  perceptible  effort. 
For  the  matters  of  account-keeping  and  letter- 
writing,  he  neglected  these  things;  and  one  is 
almost  provoked  into  respecting  him  for  so  doing 
when  it  is  remembered  that  during  all  the  time  of 
his  stay  in  France  Congress  never  allowed  to  this 
aged  and  overtasked  man  a  secretary  of  legation, 
or  even  an  amanuensis  or  a  copyist.  He  had  with 
him  his  grandson,  Temple  Franklin,  a  lad  of  six- 
teen years  at  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  France, 
and  whom  it  had  been  intended  to  place  at  school. 
But  Franklin  could  not  dispense  with  his  services, 
and  kept  this  youngster  as  his  sole  clerk  and  assist- 
ant. It  should  be  mentioned  also  in  this  connec- 
tion that  it  was  not  only  necessary  to  prepare  the 
customary  duplicates  of  every  document  of  impor- 
tance, but  every  paper  which  was  to  be  sent  across 
the  Atlantic  had  to  be  copied  half  a  dozen  extra 
times,  in  order  to  be  dispatched  in  as  many  differ- 
ent ships,  so  great  were  the  dangers  of  capture. 
It  was  hardly  fair  to  expect  a  minister  plenipoten- 
tiary to  display  unwearied  zeal  in  this  sort  of 
work.  Adams  himself  would  have  done  it,  and 
grumbled;  Franklin  did  not  do  it,  and  preserved 


344  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

his  good  temper.  In  conclusion  it  may  be  said 
that,  if  Franklin  was  indolent,  as  in  some  ways 
he  probably  was,  he  had  at  least  much  excuse  for 
indolence,  and  the  jrait  showed  itself  only  on 
what  may  be  called  the  physical  side  of  his  duties; 
upon  the  intellectual  side,  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
during  the  period  thus  far  traversed  he  did  more 
thinking  and  to  better  purpose  than  any  other 
American  of  the  day. 

In  saying  that  Franklin  was  fond  of  society  and 
pleased  with  the  admiration  expressed  for  him  by 
the  ardent  and  courteous  Frenchmen  and  by  other 
continental  Europeans,  Adams  spoke  correctly. 
Franklin  was  always  social  and  always  a  little 
vain.  But  much  less  would  have  been  heard  of 
these  traits  if  the  distinction  made  between  him 
and  his  colleagues  had  been  less  conspicuous  and 
less  constant.  That  men  of  the  size  of  the  Lees 
and  Izard  should  inflate  themselves  to  the  measure 
of  harboring  a  jealousy  of  Franklin's  preeminence 
was  only  ridiculous;  but  Adams  should  have  had, 
as  Jay  had,  too  much  self-respect  to  cherish  such 
a  feeling.  It  was  the  weak  point  in  his  character 
that  he  could  never  acknowledge  a  superior,  and 
the  fact  that  the  world  at  large  estimated  Wash- 
ington, Franklin,  and  Hamilton  as  men  of  larger 
calibre  than  his  own  kept  him  in  a  state  of  exas- 
peration all  his  life.  Now  the  simple  truth,  forced 
in  a  thousand  unintended  ways  upon  the  know- 
ledge of  all  American  envoys  during  the  Kevoku 
tion,  was,  that  in  Europe  Franklin  was  a  distin- 


HABITS  OF  LIFE  AND   OF  BUSINESS      345 

guished  man,  while  no  other  American  was  known 
or  cared  for  at  all.  Franklin  received  deference, 
where  others  received  civility;  Franklin  was  se- 
lected for  attentions,  for  flattery,  for  official  con- 
sultations and  communications,  while  his  colleagues 
were  " forgotten  entirely  by  the  French  people." 
Jay,  Dana,  and  Carmichael  accepted  this  situa- 
tion in  the  spirit  of  sensible  gentlemen,  but 
Adams,  the  Lees,  and  Izard  were  incensed  and 
sought  an  offset  in  defamation.  Compare  Carmi- 
chael's  language  with  what  has  been  quoted  from 
Adams:  he  says:  "The  age  of  Dr.  Franklin  in 
some  measure  hinders  him  from  taking  so  active 
a  part  in  the  drudgery  of  business  as  his  great 
zeal  and  abilities  would  otherwise  enable  him  to 
execute.  He  is  the  Master,  to  whom  we  children 
in  politics  look  up  for  counsel,  and  whose  name  is 
everywhere  a  passport  to  be  well  received."  Still 
it  must  have  been  provoking  to  be  customarily 
spoken  of  as  "Dr.  Franklin's  associates."  When 
Franklin  was  appointed  minister  plenipotentiary 
he  was  obliged  to  explain  that  he  was  not  the 
"sole  representative  of  America  in  Europe."  De 
Yergennes  always  wished  to  deal  only  with  him, 
and  occasionally  said  things  to  him  in  secrecy  so 
close  as  to  be  exclusive  even  of  his  "associates." 
Adams  honestly  admitted  that  "this  court  have 
confidence  in  him  alone."  When  a  favor  was  to 
be  asked,  it  was  Franklin  who  could  best  seek  it; 
and  when  it  was  granted  it  seemed  to  be  vouch- 
safed to  Franklin.     In  a  word,  Franklin  had  the 


346  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

monopoly  of  the  confidence,  the  respect,  and  the 
personal  regard  of  the  French  ministry.  It  was 
the  same  way  also  with  the  English;  when  they 
made  advances  for  conciliation  or  peace,  they  too 
selected  Franklin  for  their  communications. 

Adams  was  not  sufficiently  familiar  with  the 
modes  of  political  life  in  Europe  to  appreciate 
what  a  substantial  value  Franklin's  social  and 
scientific  prestige  among  the  "ladies  and  gentle- 
men" and  the  "academicians"  had  there.  All 
those  tributes  which  the  great  "philosopher"  was 
constantly  receiving  may  have  been,  as  Adams 
said,  pleasant  food  for  his  vanity,  but  they  were 
also  of  practical  worth  and  service,  signifying  that 
he  was  a  man  of  real  note  and  importance  in  what 
European  statesmen  regarded  as  "the  world." 
If  Franklin  relished  the  repast,  who  among  mor- 
tals would  not?  And  was  his  accuser  a  man  to 
have  turned  his  back  on  such  viands,  had  he  also 
been  bidden  to  the  feast  of  flattery?  Franklin's 
vanity  was  a  simple,  amiable,  and  harmless  source 
of  pleasure  to  himself;  it  was  not  of  the  greedy 
or  envious  type,  nor  did  its  gratification  do  any 
injury  to  any  person  or  any  interest.  Jay,  a 
man  of  generous  temper,  understood  the  advantage 
reaped  by  the  States  from  being  represented  at 
the  French  court  by  a  man  whose  greatness  all 
Europe  recognized.  More  than  once  he  bore  this 
testimony,  honorable  alike  to  the  giver  and  to  him 
for  whom  it  was  given.1 

1  See,  for  example,  Franklin's  Works,  vii.  252,  note. 


HABITS  OF  LIFE   AND   OF  BUSINESS     347 

Pleasant  as  were  many  of  the  features  of  Frank- 
lin's residence  in  France,  and  skillfully  as  he  may 
have  evaded  some  of  the  more  irksome  labors  im- 
posed upon  him,  the  attraction  was  not  always 
sufficient  to  make  him  reluctant  to  have  done  with 
the  place.  Its  vexations  and  anxieties  wore  upon 
him  grievously.  He  knew  that  unfriendly  repre- 
sentations concerning  him  were  often  made  in 
America,  and  that  these  induced  some  men  to 
distrust  him,  and  caused  others  to  feel  anxious 
about  him.  He  heard  stories  that  he  was  to  be 
recalled,  other  stories  that  there  was  a  cabal  to 
vent  a  petty  ill  will  by  putting  an  end  to  the  clerk- 
ship of  his  grandson.  This  cut  him  to  the  quick. 
"I  should  not  part  with  the  child,"  he  said,  "but 
with  the  employment; "  and  so  the  ignoble  scheme 
miscarried;  for  Congress  was  not  ready  to  lose 
Franklin,  and  did  not  really  feel  any  extreme 
dread  of  harm  from  a  lad  who,  though  the  son  of 
a  loyalist,  had  grown  up  under  Franklin's  personal 
influence.  At  times  homesickness  attacked  him. 
When  he  heard  of  the  death  of  an  old  friend  at 
home  he  wrote  sadly:  "A  few  more  such  deaths 
will  make  me  a  stranger  in  my  own  country." 
He  was  not  one  of  those  patriots  who  like  to  live 
abroad  and  protest  love  for  their  own  country. 
Generally  he  preserved  the  delightful  evenness  of 
his  temper  with  a  success  quite  wonderful  in  a 
man  troubled  with  complaints  which  preeminently 
make  the  sufferer  impatient  and  irascible.  Only 
once  he  said,  when  he  was  being  very  unreasonably 


348  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

annoyed  about  some  shipping  business:  "I  will 
absolutely  have  nothing  to  do  with  any  new  squad- 
ron project.  I  have  been  too  long  in  hot  water, 
plagued  almost  to  death  with  the  passions,  vaga- 
ries, and  ill  humors  and  madnesses  of  other  people. 
I  must  have  a  little  repose."  A  very  mild  out- 
break this,  under  all  his  provocations,  but  it  is 
the  only  one  of  which  any  record  remains.  His 
tranquil  self-control  was  a  very  remarkable  trait; 
he  was  never  made  so  angry  by  all  the  calumny 
and  assaults  of  enemies  peculiarly  apt  in  the  art 
of  irritation  as  to  use  any  immoderate  or  undig- 
nified language.  He  never  retaliated,  though  he 
had  the  fighting  capacity  in  him.  Before  the 
tribunal  of  posterity  his  patient  endurance  has 
counted  greatly  in  his  favor. 

By  March,  1781,  he  had  definitively  made  up 
his  mind  to  resign,  and  wrote  to  the  president  of 
Congress  a  letter  which  was  unmistakably  earnest 
and  in  parts  even  touching.1  When  this  alarming 
communication  was  received  all  the  depreciation 
of  the  Lees,  Izard,  and  the  rest  went  for  nothing. 
Without  hesitation  Congress  ignored  the  request, 
with  far  better  reason  than  it  could  show  for  the 
utter  indifference  with  which  it  was  wont  to  regard 
pretty  much  all  the  other  requests  which  Franklin 
ever  made.  Its  behavior  in  this  respect  was  in- 
deed very  singular.  He  recommended  his  grand- 
son to  it,  and  it  paid  absolutely  no  attention  to 

1  Franklin's    Works,  vii.   207 ;  the  letter  is  unfortunately  too 
long  to  quote.     See  also  his  letter  to  Lafayette,  Ibid.  237. 


HABITS  OF  LIFE  AND  OF  BUSINESS     349 

the  petition.  He  repeatedly  asked  the  appoint- 
ment of  consuls  at  some  of  the  French  ports;  it 
created  all  sorts  of  other  officials,  keeping  Paris 
full  of  useless  and  costly  "ministers"  accredited 
to  courts  which  would  not  receive  them,  but  ap- 
pointed no  consul.  He  urged  hard,  as  a  trifling 
personal  favor,  that  an  accountant  might  be  ap- 
pointed to  audit  his  nephew  Williams's  accounts, 
but  Congress  would  not  attend  to  a  matter  which 
could  have  been  disposed  of  in  five  minutes.  He 
never  could  get  a  secretary  or  a  clerk,  nor  even 
any  proper  appointment  of,  or  salary  for,  his 
grandson.  He  seldom  got  an  expression  of  thanks 
or  approbation  for  anything  that  he  did,  though 
he  did  many  things  wholly  outside  of  his  regular 
functions  and  involving  great  personal  risk  and 
responsibility.  Yet  when  he  really  wanted  to 
resign  he  was  not  allowed  to  do  so ;  and  thus  at 
last  he  was  left  to  learn  by  inference  that  he  had 
given  satisfaction.1 

No  sooner  had  Adams  got  comfortably  settled 
at  home  than  he  was  obliged  to  return  again  to 
Europe.  Franklin,  Jay,  Laurens,  Jefferson,  and 
he  were  appointed  by  Congress  commissioners  to 
treat  for  peace,  whenever  the  fitting  time  should 
come;  and  so  in  February,  1780,  he  was  back  in 
Paris.  But  peace  was  still  far  away  in  the  future, 
and  Adams,  meanwhile,  finding  the  intolerable 
incumbrance  of  leisure  upon  his  hands,  exorcised 
1  See  letter  to  Carmichael,  Works,  vii.  285. 


350  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

the  demon  by  writing  long  letters  to  de  Vergennes 
upon  sundry  matters  of  interest  in  American  af- 
fairs. It  was  an  unfortunate  scheme.  If  Nature 
had  maliciously  sought  to  create  a  man  for  the 
express  purpose  of  aggravating  de  Vergennes,  she 
could  not  have  made  one  better  adapted  for  that 
service  than  was  Adams.  Very  soon  there  was  a 
terrible  explosion,  and  Franklin,  invoked  by  both 
parties,  had  to  hasten  to  the  rescue,  to  his  own 
serious  injury. 

On  May  31,  1780,  in  a  letter  to  the  president 
of  Congress,  Franklin  said:  "A  great  clamor  has 
lately  been  made  by  some  merchants,  who  say  they 
have  large  sums  on  their  hands  of  paper  money 
in  America,  and  that  they  are  ruined  by  some 
resolution  of  Congress,  which  reduces  its  value  to 
one  part  in  forty.  As  I  have  had  no  letter  ex- 
plaining this  matter  I  have  only  been  able  to  say 
that  it  is  probably  misunderstood,  and  that  I  am 
confident  the  Congress  have  not  done,  nor  will 
do,  anything  unjust  towards  strangers  who  have 
given  us  credit."  Soon  afterward  Adams  got  pri- 
vate information  of  the  passage  of  an  act  for  the 
redemption  of  the  paper  money  at  the  rate  of 
forty  dollars  for  one  in  silver.  At  once  he  sent 
the  news  to  de  Vergennes.  That  statesman  took 
fire  at  the  tidings,  and  promptly  responded  that 
foreigners  ought  to  be  indemnified  for  any  losses 
they  might  suffer,  and  that  Americans  alone 
should  "support  the  expense  which  is  occasioned 
by  the  defense  of  their  liberty,"  and  should  regard 


HABITS  OF  LIFE  AND  OF  BUSINESS     351 

"the  depreciation  of  their  paper  money  only  as 
an  impost  which  ought  to  fall  upon  themselves." 
He  added  that  he  had  instructed  the  Chevalier 
de  la  Luzerne,  French  minister  to  the  States,  "to 
make  the  strongest  representations  on  this  sub- 
ject "  to  Congress. 

Adams  was  alarmed  at  the  anger  which  he  had 
excited,  and  besought  de  Vergennes  to  hold  his 
hand  until  Franklin  could  "have  opportunity  to 
make  his  representations  to  his  majesty's  minis- 
ters." But  this  gleam  of  good  sense  was  transi- 
tory, for  on  the  same  day,  without  waiting  for 
Franklin  to  intervene,  he  composed  and  sent  to 
de  Vergennes  a  long,  elaborate  defense  of  the 
course  of  the  States.  It  was  such  an  argument 
as  a  stubborn  lawyer  might  address  to  a  presum- 
ably prejudiced  court ;  it  had  not  a  pleasant  word 
of  gratitude  for  past  favors,  or  of  regret  at  the 
present  necessity;  it  was  as  undiplomatic  and  ill 
considered  as  it  certainly  was  unanswerable.  But 
its  impregnability  could  not  offset  its  gross  impru- 
dence. To  exasperate  de  Vergennes  and  alienate 
the  French  government  at  that  period,  although 
by  a  perfectly  sound  presentation,  was  an  act  of 
madness  as  unpardonable  as  any  crime. 

Upon  the  same  day  on  which  Adams  drew  up 
this  able,  inexcusable  brief  for  his  unfortunate 
client,  the  Congress,  he  wrote  to  Franklin  begging 
him  to  interfere.  On  June  29  he  followed  this 
request  with  a  humbler  note  than  John  Adams 
often  wrote,  acknowledging   that  he  might  have 


352  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

made  some  errors,  and  desiring  to  be  set  right. 
On  June  30  de  Vergennes  also  appealed  to  Frank- 
lin, saying,  amid  much  more:  "The  king  is  so 
firmly  persuaded,  sir,  that  your  private  opinion 
respecting  the  effects  of  that  resolution  of  Con- 
gress, as  far  as  it  concerns  strangers  and  espe- 
cially Frenchmen,  differs  from  that  of  Mr.  Adams, 
that  he  is  not  apprehensive  of  laying  you  under 
any  embarrassment  by  requesting  you  to  support 
the  representations  which  his  minister  is  ordered 
to  make  to  Congress." 

Franklin,  receiving  these  epistles,  was  greatly 
vexed  at  the  jeopardy  into  which  the  rash  zeal  of 
Adams  had  suddenly  plunged  the  American  inter- 
ests in  France.  His  indignation  was  not  likely 
to  be  made  less  by  the  fact  that  all  this  letter- 
writing  to  de  Vergennes  was  a  tacit  reproach  upon 
his  own  performance  of  his  duties  and  a  gratuitous 
intrenchment  upon  his  province.  The  question 
which  presented  itself  to  him  was  not  whether  the 
argument  of  Adams  was  right  or  wrong,  nor 
whether  the  distinction  which  de  Vergennes  sought 
to  establish  between  American  citizens  and  for- 
eigners was  practicable  or  not.  This  was  fortu- 
nate, because,  while  Adams  in  the  States  had 
been  forced  to  ponder  carefully  all  the  problems 
of  a  depreciating  paper  currency,  Franklin  in 
France  had  neither  necessity,  nor  opportunity, 
nor  leisure  for  studying  either  the  ethics  or  the 
solution  of   so  perplexing   a   problem.     He   now 


HABITS  OF  LIFE  AND   OF  BUSINESS      353 

hastily  made  such  inquiries  as  he  could  among  the 
Americans  lately  arrived  in  Paris,  but  did  not 
pretend  "perfectly  to  understand"  the  subject. 
To  master  its  difficulties,  however,  did  not  seem 
essential,  because  he  recognized  that  the  obvious 
duty  of  the  moment  was  to  say  something  which 
might  at  least  mitigate  the  present  wrath  of  the 
French  ministry,  and  so  gain  time  for  explanation 
and  adjustment  in  a  better  state  of  feeling.  He 
had  once  laid  down  to  Arthur  Lee  the  principle : 
"  While  we  are  asking  aid  it  is  necessary  to  grat- 
ify the  desires  and  in  some  sort  comply  with  the 
humors  of  those  we  apply  to.  Our  business  now 
is  to  carry  our  point."  Acting  upon  this  rule 
of  conciliation,  he  wrote,  on  July  10,  to  de  Ver- 
gennes :  — 

"  In  this  I  am  clear,  that  if  the  operation  directed  by 
Congress  in  their  resolution  of  March  the  18th  occa- 
sions, from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  some  inequality  of 
justice,  that  inconvenience  ought  to  fall  wholly  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  the  States,  who  reap  with  it  the  advantages 
obtained  by  the  measure ;  and  that  the  greatest  care 
should  be  taken  that  foreign  merchants,  particularly  the 
French,  who  are  our  creditors,  do  not  suffer  by  it.  This 
I  am  so  confident  the  Congress  will  do  that  I  do  not 
think  any  representations  of  mine  necessary  to  persuade 
them  to  it.  I  shall  not  fail,  however,  to  lay  the  whole 
before  them." 

In  pursuance  of  this  promise  Franklin  wrote  on 
August  9  a  full  narrative  of  the  entire  matter;  it 


354  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

was  a  fair  and  temperate  statement  of  facts  which 
it  was  his  duty  to  lay  before  Congress.1  Before 
sending  it  he  wrote  to  Adams  that  de  Vergennes, 
"having  taken  much  amiss  some  passages  in  your 
letter  to  him,  sent  the  whole  correspondence  to 
me,  requesting  that  I  would  transmit  it  to  Con- 
gress. I  was  myself  sorry  to  see  those  passages. 
If  they  were  the  effects  merely  of  inadvertence, 
and  you  do  not,  on  reflection,  approve  of  them, 
perhaps  you  may  think  it  proper  to  write  some- 
thing for  effacing  the  impressions  made  by  them. 
I  do  not  presume  to  advise  you;  but  mention  it 
only  for  your  consideration."  But  Adams  had 
already  taken  his  own  measures  for  presenting 
the  case  before  Congress. 

Such  is  the  full  story  of  Franklin's  doings  in 
this  affair.  His  connection  with  it  was  limited 
to  an  effort  to  counteract  the  mischief  which  an- 
other had  done.  Whether  he  thought  that  the 
"inconvenience"  which  "ought  to  fall"  only  on 
Americans  could  be  arranged  to  do  so,  does  not 
appear;  probably  he  never  concerned  himself  to 
work  out  a  problem  entirely  outside  his  own  de- 
partment. As  a  diplomatist,  who  had  to  gain 
time  for  angry  people  to  cool  down  for  amicable 
discussion,  he  was  content  to  throw  out  this  gen- 
eral remark,  and  to  express  confidence  that  his 
countrymen  would  do  liberal  justice.  So  far  as 
he  was  concerned,  this  should  have  been  the  end 
of  the  matter,  and  Adams  should  have  been  grate- 

1  Franklin's  Works,  vii.  110-112. 


HABITS  OF  LIFE  AND   OF  BUSINESS     365 

ful  to  a  man  whose  tranquil  wisdom  and  skillful 
tact  had  saved  him  from  the  self-reproach  which 
he  would  ever  have  felt  had  his  well-intentioned, 
ill-timed  act  borne  its  full  possible  fruit  of  in  jury- 
to  the  cause  of  the  States.  But  Adams,  who 
knew  that  his  views  were  intrinsically  correct, 
emerged  from  the  imbroglio  with  an  extreme  re- 
sentment against  his  rescuer,  nor  was  he  ever  able 
to  see  that  Franklin  did  right  in  not  reiterating 
the  same  views.  He  wished  not  to  be  saved  but 
to  be  vindicated.  The  consequence  has  been 
unfortunate  for  Franklin,  because  the  affair  has 
furnished  material  for  one  of  the  counts  in  the 
indictment  which  the  Adamses  have  filed  against 
him  before  the  bar  of  posterity. 

It  may  be  remarked  here  that  the  few  words 
which  Franklin  ever  let  drop  concerning  paper 
money  indicate  that  he  had  given  it  little  thought. 
He  said  that  in  Europe  it  seemed  "a  mystery," 
ua  wonderful  machine;"  and  there  is  no  reason 
why  he  should  have  understood  it  better  than 
other  people  in  Europe.  He  also  said  that  the 
general  effect  of  the  depreciation  had  operated  as 
a  gradual  tax  on  the  citizens,  and  "perhaps  the 
most  equal  of  all  taxes,  since  it  depreciated  in  the 
hands  of  the  holders  of  money,  and  thereby  taxed 
them  in  proportion  to  the  sums  they  held  and  the 
time  they  held  it,  which  is  generally  in  proportion 
to  men's  wealth."1  The  remark  could  not  keep 
a  place  in  any  very  profound  discussion  of  the 

1  See  also  Franklin's  Works,  vii.  343. 


356  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

subject;  but  it  should  be  noted  that  in  this  point 
of  view  the  contention  of  de  Vergennes  might  be 
logically  defended,  on  the  ground  that  a  foreigner 
ought  not  to  be  taxed  like  a  citizen;  but  the  in- 
superable difficulty  of  making  the  distinction  prac- 
ticable remained  undisposed  of. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS:  LAST  YEARS  IN  FRANCE 

The  war  had  not  been  long  waging  before  over- 
tures and  soundings  concerning  an  accommodation, 
abetted  and  sometimes  instigated  by  the  cabinet, 
began  to  come  from  England.  Nearly  all  these 
were  addressed  to  Franklin,  because  all  Europe 
persisted  in  regarding  him  as  the  one  authentic 
representative  of  America,  and  because  English- 
men of  all  parties  had  long  known  and  respected 
him  far  beyond  any  other  American.  In  March, 
1778,  William  Pulteney,  a  member  of  Parliament, 
came  under  an  assumed  name  to  Paris  and  had 
an  interview  with  him.  But  it  seemed  that  Eng- 
land would  not  renounce  the  theory  of  the  power 
of  Parliament  over  the  colonies,  though  willing 
by  way  of  favor  to  forego  its  exercise.  Franklin 
declared  an  arrangement  on  such  a  basis  to  be 
impossible. 

A  few  months  later  there  occurred  the  singular 
and  mysterious  episode  of  Charles  de  Weissen- 
stein.  Such  was  the  signature  to  a  letter  dated  at 
Brussels,  June  16,  1778.  The  writer  said  that  in- 
dependence was  an  impossibility,  and  that  the  Eng- 
lish title  to  the  colonies,  being  indisputable,  would 


358  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

be  enforced  by  coming  generations  even  if  the 
present  generation  should  have  to  "stop  awhile  in 
the  pursuit  to  recover  breath; "  he  then  sketched  a 
plan  of  reconciliation,  which  included  offices  or 
life  pensions  for  Franklin.  Washington,  and  other 
prominent  rebels.  He  requested  a  personal  inter- 
view with  Franklin,  and,  failing  that,  he  appointed 
to  be  in  a  certain  spot  in  Notre  Dame  at  a  certain 
hour,  wearing  a  rose  in  his  hat,  to  receive  a  written 
reply.  The  French  police  reported  the  presence 
at  the  time  and  place  of  a  man  obviously  bent 
upon  this  errand,  who  was  traced  to  his  hotel  and 
found,  says  John  Adams,  to  be  "Colonel  Fitz- 
something,  an  Irish  name,  that  I  have  forgotten." 
He  got  no  answer,  because  at  a  consultation  be- 
tween the  American  commissioners  and  de  Ver- 
gennes  it  was  so  decided.  But  one  had  been 
written  by  Franklin,  and  though  de  Weissenstein 
and  Colonel  Fitz -something  never  saw  it,  at  least 
it  has  afforded  pleasure  to  thousands  of  readers 
since  that  time.  For  by  sundry  evidence  Frank- 
lin became  convinced,  even  to  the  point  of  alleging 
that  he  "knew,"  that  the  incognito  correspondent 
was  the  English  monarch  himself,  whose  letter 
the  Irish  colonel  had  brought.  The  extraordinary 
occasion  inspired  him.  It  is  a  rare  occurrence 
when  one  can  speak  direct  to  a  king  as  man  with 
man  on  terms  of  real  equality.  Franklin  seized 
his  chance,  and  wrote  a  letter  in  his  best  vein,  a 
dignified,  vigorous  statement  of  the  American  po- 
sition, an  eloquent,  indignant  arraignment  of  the 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  359 

English  measures  for  which  George  III.  more 
than  any  other  one  man  was  responsible.  In 
language  which  was  impassioned  without  being 
extravagant,  he  mingled  sarcasm  and  retort,  state- 
ment and  argument,  with  a  strenuous  force  that 
would  have  bewildered  the  royal  "de  Weissen- 
stein."  To  this  day  one  cannot  read  these  sting- 
ing paragraphs  without  a  feeling  of  disappoint- 
ment that  de  Vergennes  would  not  let  them  reach 
their  destination.  Such  a  bolt  should  have  been 
sent  hotly  home,  not  dropped  to  be  picked  up  as 
a  curiosity  by  the  groping  historians  of  posterity. 

The  good  Hartley  also  was  constantly  toiling 
to  find  some  common  ground  upon  which  negotia- 
tors could  stand  and  talk.  One  of  his  schemes, 
which  now  seems  an  idle  one,  was  for  a  long 
truce,  during  which  passions  might  subside  and 
perhaps  a  settlement  be  devised.  Franklin  ever 
lent  a  courteous  ear  to  any  one  who  spoke  the 
word  Peace.  But  neither  this  strong  feeling,  nor 
any  discouragement  by  reason  of  American  re- 
verses, nor  any  arguments  of  Englishmen  ever 
induced  him  to  recede  in  the  least  from  the  line 
of  demands  which  he  thought  reasonable,  nor  to 
abate  his  uncompromising  plainness  of  speech. 

With  the  outbreak  of  war  Franklin's  feelings 
towards  England  had  taken  on  that  extreme  bit- 
terness which  so  often  succeeds  when  love  and 
admiration  seem  to  have  been  misplaced.  "I  was 
fond  to  a  folly,"  he  said,  "of  our  British  connec- 
tions, .  .  .  but  the   extreme  cruelty  with  which 


360  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

we  have  been  treated  has  now  extinguished  every 
thought  of  returning  to  it,  and  separated  us  for- 
ever. You  have  thereby  lost  limbs  that  will  never 
grow  again."  English  barbarities,  he  declared, 
"have  at  length  demolished  all  my  moderation." 
Often  and  often  he  reiterated  such  statements  in 
burning  words,  which  verge  more  nearly  upon 
vehemence  than  any  other  reminiscence  which  sur- 
vives to  us  of  the  great  and  calm  philosopher. 

Yet  in  the  bottom  of  his  heart  he  felt  that  the 
chasm  should  not  be  made  wider  and  deeper  than 
was  inevitable.  In  1780  he  told  Hartley  that 
Congress  would  fain  have  had  him  "make  a  school- 
book"  from  accounts  of  "British  barbarities,"  to 
be  illustrated  by  thirty -five  prints  by  good  artists 
of  Paris,  "each  expressing  one  or  more  of  the 
different  horrid  facts,  ...  in  order  to  impress 
the  minds  of  children  and  posterity  with  a  deep 
sense  of  your  bloody  and  insatiable  malice  and 
wickedness."  He  would  not  do  this,  yet  was 
sorely  provoked  toward  it.  "Every  kindness  I 
hear  of  done  by  an  Englishman  to  an  American 
prisoner  makes  me  resolve  not  to  proceed  in  the 
work,  hoping  a  reconciliation  may  yet  take  place. 
But  every  fresh  instance  of  your  devilism  weakens 
that  resolution,  and  makes  me  abominate  the 
thought  of  a  reunion  with  such  a  people." 

In  point  of  fact  the  idea  of  an  actual  reunion 
seems  never  from  the  very  outset  to  have  had 
any  real  foothold  in  his  mind.  In  1779  he  said: 
"We  have  long  since  settled  all  the  account  in 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  361 

our  own  minds.  We  know  the  worst  you  can  do 
to  us,  if  you  have  your  wish,  is  to  confiscate  our 
estates  and  take  our  lives,  to  rob  and  murder  us ; 
and  this  ...  we  are  ready  to  hazard  rather  than 
come  again  under  your  detested  government.  "x 
This  sentiment  steadily  gained  strength  as  the 
struggle  advanced.  Whenever  he  talked  about 
terms  of  peace  he  took  a  tone  so  high  as  must 
have  seemed  altogether  ridiculous  to  English  states- 
men. Independence,  he  said,  was  established;  no 
words  need  be  wasted  about  that.  Then  he  auda- 
ciously suggested  that  it  would  be  good  policy  for 
England  "to  act  nobly  and  generously;  ...  to 
cede  all  that  remains  in  North  America,  and  thus 
conciliate  and  strengthen  a  young  power,  which 
she  wishes  to  have  a  future  and  serviceable  friend." 
She  would  do  well  to  "throw  in"  Canada,  Nova 
Scotia,  and  the  Floridas,  and  "call  it  ...  an 
indemnification  for  the  burning  of  the  towns." 

Englishmen  constantly  warned  him  of  the  blun- 
der which  the  colonies  would  commit,  should  they 
"throw  themselves  into  the  arms"  of  France,  and 
they  assured  him  that  the  alliance  was  the  one 
"great  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  making 
peace."  But  he  had  ever  the  reply,  after  the 
fashion  of  Scripture:  By  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them.  France  was  as  liberal  of  friendship 
and  good  services  as  England  was  of  tyranny  and 
cruelties.     This  was  enough  to  satisfy  Franklin; 

1  See  also  a  strong  statement  in  letter  to  Hartley  of  October  14, 
1777  ;  Works,  vii.  106. 


362  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

he  saw  no  Judas  in  the  constant  and  generous 
de  Vergennes,  and  could  recognize  no  inducement 
to  drop  the  substance  France  for  the  shadow  Eng- 
land.1 To  his  mind  it  seemed  to  concern  equally 
the  honor  and  the  interest  of  the  States  to  stand 
closely  and  resolutely  by  their  allies,  whom  to 
abandon  would  be  "infamy; "  and  after  all,  what 
better  bond  could  there  be  than  a  common  interest 
and  a  common  foe?  From  this  view  he  never 
wavered  to  the  hour  when  the  definitive  treaty  of 
peace  was  signed.2 

Such  was  Franklin's  frame  of  mind  when  the 
surrender  at  Yorktown  and  the  events  incident 
to  the  reception  of  the  news  in  England  at  last 
brought  peace  into  really  serious  consideration. 
The  States  had  already  been  forward  to  place 
themselves  in  a  position  for  negotiating  at  the  first 
possible  moment.  For  in  1779  Congress  had  re- 
ceived from  France  an  intimation  that  it  would 
be  well  to  have  an  envoy  in  Europe  empowered 
to  treat;  and  though  it  was  seizing  time  very 
much  by  the  forelock,  yet  that  body  was  in  no 
mood  to  dally  with  so  pleasing  a  hint,  and  at  once 
nominated  John  Adams  to  be  plenipotentiary. 
This,  however,  by  no  means,  fell  in  with  the 
schemes  of  the  French  ministry,  for  de  Vergennes 
knew  and  disliked  Mr.  Adams's  very  unmanage- 
able character.     Accordingly  the  French  ambassa- 

1  See  Franklin's  Works,  vi.  303. 

2  See  Franklin's  Works,  vi.  151,  303,  310 ;  vii.  3,  for  examples 
of  his  expressions  on  this  subject. 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  363 

dor  at  Philadelphia  was  instructed  to  use  his  great 
influence  with  Congress  to  effect  some  ameliora- 
tion of  the  distasteful  arrangement,  and  he  soon 
covertly  succeeded  in  inducing  Congress  to  create 
a  commission  by  appointing  Adams,  Jay,  Frank- 
lin, Jefferson,  who  never  went  on  the  mission, 
and  Laurens,  who  was  a  prisoner  in  England  and 
joined  his  colleagues  only  after  the  business  had 
been  substantially  concluded.  Adams  promptly 
came  to  Paris,  created  a  great  turmoil  there,  as 
has  been  in  part  narrated,  and  passed  on  to  Hol- 
land, where  he  still  remained.  Jay,  accredited 
to,  but  not  yet  received  by,  the  Spanish  court, 
was  at  Madrid.  Franklin  therefore  alone  was  on 
hand  in  Paris  when  the  great  tidings  of  the  cap- 
ture of  Cornwallis  came. 

It  was  on  November  25,  1781,  that  Lord  North 
got  this  news,  taking  it  "as  he  would  have  taken 
a  ball  in  his  breast."  He  recognized  at  once  that 
"all  was  over,"  yet  for  a  short  time  longer  he 
retained  the  management  of  affairs.  But  his  ma- 
jority in  Parliament  was  steadily  dwindling,  and 
evidently  with  him  also  "all  was  over."  In  his 
despair  he  caught  with  almost  pathetic  eagerness 
at  what  for  a  moment  seemed  a  chance  to  save  his 
ministry  by  treating  with  the  States  secretly  and 
apart  from  France.  He  was  a  man  not  troubled 
with  convictions,  and  having  been  obstinate  in 
conducting  a  war  for  which  he  really  cared  little, 
he  was  equally  ready  to  save  his  party  by  putting 
an  end  to  it  with  the  loss  of  all  that  had  been  at 


364  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

stake.  Franklin,  however,  decisively  cut  off  that 
hope.  America,  he  assured  Hartley,  would  not 
forfeit  the  world's  good  opinion  by  "such  per- 
fidy;'' and  in  the  incredible  event  of  Congress 
instructing  its  commissioners  to  treat  upon  "such 
ignominious  terms,"  he  himself  at  least  "would 
certainly  refuse  to  act."  So  Digges,  whom  Frank- 
lin described  as  "the  greatest  villain  I  ever  met 
with,"  carried  back  no  comfort  from  secret,  tenta- 
tive errands  to  Adams  in  Holland  and  to  Franklin 
in  France.  Simultaneous  furtive  advances  to 
de  Vergennes  met  with  a  like  rebuff.  France  and 
America  were  not  to  be  separated;  Lord  North 
and  his  colleagues  were  not  to  be  saved  by  the 
bad  faith  of  either  of  their  enemies.  On  Febru- 
ary 22,  1782,  an  address  to  the  king  against  con- 
tinuing the  American  war  was  moved  by  Conway. 
It  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  nineteen.  A  few 
days  later  a  second,  more  pointed,  address  was 
carried  without  a  division.  The  next  day  leave 
was  granted  to  bring  in  a  bill  enabling  the  king 
to  make  a  peace  or  a  truce  with  the  colonies. 
The  game  was  up;  the  ministry  held  no  more 
cards  to  play;  on  March  20  Lord  North  an- 
nounced that  his  administration  was  at  an  end. 

In  his  shrewd,  intelligent  fashion,  Franklin  was 
watching  these  events,  perfectly  appreciating  the 
significance  of  each  in  turn.  On  March  22  he 
seized  an  opportunity  which  chance  threw  in  his 
way  for  writing  to  Lord  Shelburne  a  short  note, 
in  which  he  suggested  a  hope  that  the  "returning 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  365 

good  disposition"  of  England  towards  America 
would  "tend  to  produce  a  general  peace."  It 
was  a  note  of  a  few  lines  only,  seemingly  a  mere 
pleasant  passage  of  courtesy  to  an  old  friend,  but 
significant  and  timely,  an  admirable  specimen  of 
the  delicate  tact  with  which  Franklin  could  meet 
and  almost  create  opportunity.  A  few  days  later 
the  cabinet  of  Lord  Rockingham  was  formed, 
composed  of  the  friends  of  America.  In  it 
Charles  Fox  was  secretary  for  foreign  affairs, 
and  Lord  Shelburne  had  the  home  department, 
including  the  colonies.  No  sooner  were  the  new 
ministers  fairly  instated  than  Shelburne  dispatched 
Richard  Oswald,  a  retired  Scotch  merchant,  of 
very  estimable  character,  of  good  temper,  reason- 
able views,  and  sufficient  ability,  to  talk  matters 
over  with  Franklin  at  Paris.  Oswald  arrived  on 
April  12,  and  had  satisfactory  interviews  with 
Franklin  and  de  Vergennes.  The  important  fact 
of  which  he  became  satisfied  by  the  explicit  lan- 
guage of  Franklin  was,  that  the  hope  of  inducing 
the  American  commissioners  to  treat  secretly  and 
separately  from  France  was  utterly  groundless.1 
After  a  few  days  he  went  back  to  London,  carry- 
ing a  letter  from  Franklin  to  Shelburne,  in  which 
Franklin  expressed  his  gratification  at  these  over- 
tures and  his  hope  that  Oswald  might  continue 

1  About  the  same  time  Laurens  was  released  on  parole  and 
sent  to  confer  with  Adams  in  Holland,  concerning  a  separate 
treating,  and  brought  from  Adams  the  like  response  as  Oswald 
brought  from  Franklin. 


366  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

to  represent  the  English  minister.  Oswald  also 
carried  certain  "Notes  for  Conversation,"  which 
Franklin  had  written  out;  "some  loose  thoughts 
on  paper,"  as  he  called  them,  "which  I  intended 
to  serve  as  memorandums  for  my  discourse,  but 
without  a  fixed  intention  of  showing  them  to  him." 
As  matters  turned  out  later,  it  would  have  been 
better  if  Franklin  had  not  been  quite  so  free  with 
these  "memorandums,"  which  contained  a  sugges- 
tion that  the  English  should  cede  Canada  and 
the  Americans  should  recoup  the  losses  of  the 
royalists.  Indeed,  no  sooner  had  the  paper  left 
his  hands  than  he  saw  his  error,  and  was  "a  little 
ashamed  of  his  weakness."  The  letter  only  was 
shown  to  the  whole  cabinet. 

On  May  5.  Oswald  was  again  in  Paris,  charged 
to  discuss  terms  with  Franklin.  But  on  May  7 
there  arrived  also  Thomas  Grenville,  deputed  by 
Fox  to  approach  de  Vergennes  with  the  design 
not  only  of  treating  with  France,  but  also  of  treat- 
ing with  the  States  through  France.  The  double 
mission  indicated  a  division  in  the  English  cabi- 
net. Fox  and  Shelburne  were  almost  as  hostile 
to  each  other  as  were  both  to  Lord  North;  and 
each  was  aiming  to  control  the  coming  negotia- 
tions with  the  States.  Which  should  secure  it 
was  a  nice  question.  For  English  purposes  of 
classification  the  States,  until  independence  was 
acknowledged,  remained  colonies,  and  so  within  the 
charge  of  Shelburne.  Hence  came  Fox's  scheme 
for  reaching  them  indirectly  through  France,  also 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  367 

his  avowed  willingness  to  recognize  their  independ- 
ence immediately,  for  foreign  business  belonged 
to  him.  Shelburne,  on  the  other  hand,  strenu- 
ously resisted  this ;  at  worst,  as  he  thought,  inde- 
pendence must  come  through  a  treaty,  and  with 
equivalents.  Moreover  it  seems  that  he  cherished 
an  odd,  half -defined  notion,  apparently  altogether 
peculiar  to  himself,  that  he  might  escape  the 
humiliation  of  a  grant  of  full  independence,  and 
in  place  thereof  might  devise  some  sort  of  "fed- 
eral union."  Perhaps  it  was  out  of  this  strange 
fancy  that  there  grew  at  this  time  a  story  that 
the  States  were  to  be  reconciled  and  joined  to 
Great  Britain  by  a  gift  of  the  same  measure  of 
autonomy  enjoyed  by  Ireland. 

When  Oswald  and  Franklin  next  met,  they 
made  at  first  little  progress;  each  seemed  desirous 
to  keep  himself  closed  while  the  other  unfolded. 
The  result  was  that  Franklin  wrote,  with  unusual 
naivete:  "On  the  whole  I  was  able  to  draw  so 
little  of  the  sentiments  of  Lord  Shelburne  .  .  . 
that  I  could  not  but  wonder  at  his  being  again 
sent  to  me."  At  the  same  time  Grenville  was 
offering  to  de  Vergennes  to  acknowledge  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States,  provided  that  in 
other  respects  the  treaty  of  1763  1  should  be  rein- 
stated. That  is  to  say,  France  was  to  agree  to 
a  complete  restoration  of  the  status  quo  ante 
helium  in  every  respect  so  far  as  her  own  interests 

1  Made  between  England  and  France  at  the  close  of  the  last 
war,  in  which  France  had  lost  Canada. 


368  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

were  concerned,  and  to  accept  as  the  entire  re- 
compense for  all  her  expenditures  of  money  and 
blood  a  benefit  accruing  to  the  American  States. 
This  was  a  humorous  assumption  of  the  ingenuous- 
ness of  her  most  disinterested  protestations.  The 
French  minister,  we  are  told,  "seemed  to  smile" 
at  this  compliment  to  the  unselfishness  of  his 
chivalrous  nation,1  and  replied  that  the  American 
States  were  making  no  request  to  England  for 
independence.  As  Franklin  happily  expressed  it : 
"This  seems  to  me  a  proposition  of  selling  to  us 
a  thing  that  was  already  our  own,  and  making 
France  pay  the  price  they  [the  English]  are 
pleased  to  ask  for  it."  But  the  design  of  wean- 
ing the  States  from  France,  in  the  treating,  was 
obvious. 

Grenville,  thus  checked,  next  tried  to  see  what 
he  could  do  with  Franklin  in  the  way  of  separate 
negotiation.  But  he  only  elicited  a  statement  that 
the  States  were  under  no  obligations  save  those 
embodied  in  the  treaties  of  alliance  and  com- 
merce with  France,  and  a  sort  of  intimation,  which 
might  be  pregnant  of  much  or  of  little,  that  if 
the  purpose  of  the  former  were  achieved  through 
the  recognition  of  independence,  then  the  com- 
mercial treaty  alone  would  remain.  This  some- 
what enigmatical  remark  doubtless  indicated  no- 
thing more  than  that  the  States  would  not  continue 
active  and  aggressive  hostilities  in  order  to  further 

1  "  The  Peace  Negotiations  of  1782-83,"  etc.,  by  John  Jay ;  in 
Winsor's  Narr.  and  Crit.  Hist,  of  America,  vol.  vii. 


PEACE   NEGOTIATIONS  369 

purely  French  designs.  Clearly  it  would  depend 
upon  the  demands  of  France  whether  the  States 
might  not  find  themselves  in  a  somewhat  delicate 
position.  Their  obligation  to  make  no  separate 
peace  with  England  had  been  contracted  upon  the 
basis  that  France  should  ally  herself  with  them 
to  obtain  their  independence;  and  the  injury 
expected  to  result  therefrom  to  England,  with 
the  chance  of  commercial  advantages  accruing  to 
France,  had  been  regarded  as  a  full  consideration. 
Yet  it  would  seem  ungrateful,  to  say  the  least,  to 
step  out  of  the  fight  and  leave  France  in  it,  and 
to  refuse  to  back  her  demands  for  the  recoupment 
of  some  of  the  losses  which  she  had  suffered  in 
the  previous  war.  But  now  the  French  alliance 
with  Spain  threatened  grave  complications;  she 
had  joined  France  in  the  war,  and  the  two  powers 
were  held  closely  together  by  the  Bourbon  family 
interests.  Spain  now  had  demands  of  her  own  in 
the  way  of  territory  on  the  American  continent, 
where  she  had  made  extensive  conquests,  and  even 
for  the  cession  of  Gibraltar.  But  the  States  owed 
little  to  Spain,  vastly  less,  indeed,  than  they  had 
tried  to  owe  to  her;  for  their  incessant  begging 
had  elicited  only  small  sums,  and  they  were  more 
irritated  at  their  failure  to  obtain  much  than 
thankful  for  the  trifles  they  had  extorted.  So 
they  now  easily  and  gladly  took  the  position  of 
entire  freedom  from  any  obligation,  either  by 
treaty  or  of  honor,  towards  that  power.  But  in 
the  probable  event  of  France  standing  by  Spain, 


370  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

peace  might  be  deferred  for  the  benefit  of  a  coun- 
try with  which  the  States  had  no  lien,  unless  the 
States  could  treat  separately.  It  was  not  within 
the  purview  of  the  treaty  that  they  should  remain 
tied  to  France  for  such  purposes;  and  to  this 
purport  Fox  wrote  to  Grenville.  But  though  it 
might  be  tolerably  easy  to  enunciate  a  theory  by 
which  the  States  could  justly  control  their  own 
affairs,  with  no  regard  to  France,  it  was  only  too 
probable  that  the  application  of  that  theory  to 
circumstances  would  be  a  very  nice  and  perplexing 
task.  It  strongly  behooved  a  new  country  to  pre- 
serve its  good  name  and  its  friendships. 

If  Fox  had  been  able  to  carry  his  point,  matters 
might  have  moved  more  expeditiously.  But  pend- 
ing the  struggle  between  him  and  Shelburne  no 
advance  could  be  made  at  Paris.  Grenville  and 
Oswald  could  not  work  in  unison.  Franklin  and 
de  Vergennes  became  puzzled  and  suspicious,  hav- 
ing only  an  imperfect  inkling  by  report  and  gossip 
concerning  the  true  state  of  affairs.  They  sus- 
pected, with  good  show  of  evidence,  that  the  real 
object  of  English  diplomacy  was  to  drive  in  a 
wedge  between  the  allies.  Amid  these  perplexi- 
ties, on  April  22,  Franklin  wrote  to  Jay,  begging 
him  to  come  to  Paris:  "Here  you  are  greatly 
wanted,  for  messengers  begin  to  come  and  go, 
.  .  .  and  I  can  neither  make  nor  agree  to  condi- 
tions of  peace  without  the  assistance  of  my  col- 
leagues. ...  I  wish  therefore  you  would  .  .  . 
render  yourself   here  as   soon  as  possible.     You 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  371 

would  be  of  infinite  service."  Jay  arrived  on 
June  23,  to  Franklin's  "great  satisfaction,"  and 
the  meeting  was  cordial.  Jay  was  thirty-seven 
years  old,  and  Franklin  was  seventy-six,  but  Jay 
says :  "  His  mind  appears  more  vigorous  than  that 
of  any  man  of  his  age  I  have  known.  He  cer- 
tainly is  a  valuable  minister  and  an  agreeable 
companion." 

The  deadlock  continued.  Grenville  showed  a 
commission  to  treat  with  France  and  "any  other 
prince  or  state."  But  the  "enabling  act,"  giving 
the  king  authority  to  acknowledge  the  independ- 
ence of  the  States,  had  not  yet  been  passed  by 
Parliament;  and  it  did  not  appear  that  England 
recognized  the  ex-colonies  as  constituting  either 
a  prince  or  a  state.  Oswald  had  no  commission 
at  all.  Franklin,  though  he  found  himself  "in 
some  perplexity  with  regard  to  these  two  negotia- 
tions," strove  to  set  things  in  motion.  He  pre- 
ferred Oswald  to  Grenville,  and  intimated  to  Lord 
Shelburne  his  wish  that  Oswald  should  receive 
exclusive  authority  to  treat  with  the  American 
commissioners.  He  at  the  same  time  suggested 
sundry  necessary  articles  to  be  disposed  of  by  the 
treaty,  namely :  independence,  boundaries,  and  the 
fisheries;  and  sundry  advisable  articles,  namely: 
an  indemnity  to  be  granted  by  England  to  the 
sufferers  by  the  war;  an  acknowledgment  of  her 
error  by  England,  and  the  cession  of  Canada. 

But  the  duel  between  Shelburne  and  Fox  must 
first  be  settled,  and  it  was  now  about  to  be  settled 


372  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

suddenly  and  in  an  unexpected  manner.  On  July 
1,  1782,  Lord  Rockingham  died,  and  the  crown, 
as  Walpole  facetiously  remarked,  thereby  de- 
scended to  the  king  of  England.  The  monarch 
at  once,  though  very  reluctantly,  requested  Shel- 
burne  to  accept  the  post  of  prime  minister,  regard- 
ing him  as  in  some  degree  less  obnoxious  than 
Fox.  Thereupon  Fox  and  his  friends  retired  in 
high  dudgeon  from  office,  and  Grenville  promptly 
asked  to  be  recalled.  His  opportune  request  was 
granted  very  readily,  and  his  place  was  given  to 
Fitzherbert,  who  brought  personal  letters  to  Frank- 
lin, but  who  was  not  accredited  to  treat  with  the 
States.  It  seemed  that  this  business  was  now 
again  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  Oswald,  and  ac- 
cordingly, though  he  still  remained  without  any 
definite  authority,  active  discussion  was  resumed 
between  him  and  Franklin.  Early  in  August 
both  believed  that  an  understanding  upon  all  im- 
portant points  had  been  reached.  Jay  had  been 
ill  almost  ever  since  his  arrival  in  Paris,  and  was 
only  now  recovering;  Adams  was  still  in  Holland; 
so  that  Franklin  and  Oswald  had  had  the  whole 
matter  between  themselves. 

Just  at  this  time  Parliament  rose;  and  Shel- 
burne  sent  Vaughan  to  Paris  to  give  private  as- 
surance to  Franklin  that  there  would  be  no  change 
in  policy  towards  America.  A  commission  was 
at  the  same  time  drawn  up  and  sent  to  Oswald 
empowering  him  to  treat  with  commissioners  of 
the   "colonies   or   plantations,   and   any  body  or 


PEACE   NEGOTIATIONS  373 

bodies  corporate  or  politic,  or  any  assembly  or 
assemblies."  This  singular  phraseology  at  once 
produced  trouble.  Jay  indignantly  repudiated  the 
colonial  condition  imputed  by  this  language,  and 
resolutely  said  that  independence  must  be  no  item 
in  any  treaty,  but  must  be  recognized  before  he 
would  even  begin  to  treat.  The  point  was  dis- 
cussed by  him  with  de  Vergennes  and  Franklin. 
The  French  minister  at  first  had  "objected  to 
these  general  words  as  not  being  particular 
enough;"  but  now  he  changed  his  mind  and  ad- 
vised not  to  stickle;  for  independence  must  be 
the  result  of  the  treaty,  and  it  was  not  to  be 
expected  that  the  effect  should  precede  the  cause. 
Franklin,  with  evident  hesitation  and  reluctance,1 
gave  his  opinion  that  the  commission  "would  do." 
Oswald  then  showed  his  instructions,  which  di- 
rected him  to  concede  "the  complete  independence 
of  the  thirteen  States."  Unfortunately  the  en- 
abling act  had  not  even  yet  passed,  so  that  there 
was  some  doubt  as  to  the  power  of  the  ministers 
to  agree  to  this.  Jay's  determination  remained 
unchanged;  for  he  suspected  that  the  motives  of 
de  Vergennes  were  not  disinterested,  and  thought 
that  Franklin  was  hoodwinked  by  his  French  pre- 
dilections. Franklin,  on  the  other  hand,  thought 
that  the  minister  wished  only  to  expedite  the 
negotiation  as  much  as  possible,  a  matter  in  which 
he  himself  also  was  very  zealous;  for  he  under- 
stood  the   English   political   situation   and  knew 

1  Franklin's  Works,  viii.  99,  101,  150,  note. 


374  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

that  Shelburne's  tenure  of  power  was  precarious, 
and  that  any  possible  successor  of  Shelburne  would 
be  vastly  less  well-disposed  to  the  States.  This 
induced  him  to  stretch  a  point  in  order  to  go 
on  with  the  treating.  Parliament  was  to  meet 
on  November  26,  and  unless  peace  could  be  con- 
cluded before  that  time,  the  chance  for  it  there- 
after would  be  diminished  almost  to  the  point  of 
hopelessness.  But  Adams  wrote  from  Holland 
that  he  also  disapproved  the  unusual  form  of  the 
commission,  though  a  commission  to  treat  with 
envoys  of  "the  United  States  of  America"  would 
satisfy  him,  as  a  sufficient  implication  of  independ- 
ence without  an  explicit  preliminary  acknowledg- 
ment of  it. 

About  the  middle  of  August  Jay  drew  up  a 
letter,  suggesting  very  ingeniously  that  it  was 
incompatible  with  the  dignity  of  the  king  of 
England  to  negotiate  except  with  an  independent 
power;  also  that  an  obstacle  which  meant  every- 
thing to  the  States,  but  nothing  to  Great  Brit- 
ain, should  be  removed  by  his  majesty.  Franklin 
thought  that  the  letter  expressed  too  positively 
the  resolve  not  to  treat  save  upon  this  basis  of 
pre-acknowledged  independence.  He  evidently 
did  not  wish  to  bolt  too  securely  the  door  through 
which  he  anticipated  that  the  commissioners  might 
in  time  feel  obliged  to  withdraw.  Moreover  Jay 
thought  that  at  this  time  "the  doctor  seemed  to 
be  much  perplexed  and  fettered  by  our  instruc- 
tions to  be  guided  by  the  advice  of  this  court," 


PEACE   NEGOTIATIONS  375 

a  direction  correctly  supposed  to  have  been  pro- 
cured by  the  influence  of  the  French  envoy  at 
Philadelphia. 

Jay's  suspicions  concerning  the  French  minister 
happened  now  to  receive  opportune  corroboration. 
On  September  4  Rayneval,  secretary  to  de  Ver- 
gennes,  had  a  long  interview  with  Jay  concerning 
boundaries,  in  which  he  argued  strongly  against 
the  American  claims  to  the  western  lands  lying 
between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Mississippi. 
This  touched  Jay  nearly,  for  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  was  the  one  object  which  he  had  espe- 
cially at  heart.  Six  days  later  the  famous  letter 
of  Marbois,  de  la  Luzerne's  secretary,  which  had 
been  captured  en  route  from  Philadelphia  to 
de  Vergennes  at  Paris,  was  put  into  the  hands 
of  Jay  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  English 
cabinet.  This  outlined  a  scheme  for  a  secret 
understanding  between  England  and  France  to 
deprive  the  Americans  of  the  Newfoundland  fish- 
eries. This  evidence  seemed  to  prove  Jay's  case; 
yet  Franklin  remained  strangely  unshaken  by  it, 
for  he  reflected  that  it  came  from  the  British 
ministry  and  was  infected  with  suspicion  by  this 
channel.  But  still  another  occurrence  came  to 
strengthen  Jay's  conviction  of  some  latent  hos- 
tility in  the  French  policy,  for  he  learned  that 
Rayneval  was  making  a  rapid  and  secret  journey 
to  London.  He  felt  sure  that  this  errand  was  to 
intimate  to  Shelburne  that  France  did  not  incline 
to  support  the  demands  of  her  American  allies. 


376  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

In  the  fullness  of  his  faith  he  took  a  courageous, 
very  unconventional,  but  eminently  successful 
step.  He  persuaded  Vaughan  to  hasten  to  Lon- 
don, and  to  present  sundry  strong  arguments 
going  to  show  that  it  was  the  true  policy  of  Eng- 
land to  grant  the  demands  of  the  States  rather 
than  to  fall  in  with  the  subtle  plans  of  France. 
He  felt  with  regret  that  he  could  not  consult 
Franklin  regarding  this  proceeding,  which  he  un- 
dertook upon  his  own  sole  responsibility.  It  put 
Shelburne  in  a  singular  position,  as  arbiter  be- 
tween two  nations  enemies  of  England  and  allies 
of  each  other,  but  each  manoeuvring  to  secure  its 
own  advantage  at  the  cost  of  its  friend,  and  to 
that  end  presuming  to  advise  him  upon  English 
interests.  He  did  not  ponder  long  before  accept- 
ing the  American  arguments  as  the  better,  and 
deciding  that  the  English  policy  was  rather  to  be 
liberal  towards  a  kindred  people  than  to  unite 
with  a  traditional  foe  in  curtailing  their  pro- 
sperity. He  said  to  Vaughan :  "  Is  the  new  com- 
mission necessary?"  "It  is,"  replied  Vaughan; 
and  his  lordship  at  once  gave  orders  for  making 
it  out.  Had  he  fallen  in  with  the  French  ideas, 
he  would,  upon  the  contrary,  have  cherished  this 
disagreement  for  a  while,  in  order  finally  to  sell 
out  a  concession  on  this  point  at  the  price  of  some 
such  substantial  matter  as  the  fisheries  or  the 
western  lands.  Forthwith  Vaughan  was  on  his 
way  back  to  Paris,  accompanied  by  a  messenger 
who  carried  the  amended  document  empowering 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  377 

Oswald  to  treat  with  the  commissioners  of  the 
"  Thirteen  United  States  of  America,  viz. :  New 
Hampshire,"  etc.,  naming  them  all.  "We  have 
put  the  greatest  confidence,  I  believe,  ever  placed 
in  man,  in  the  American  commissioners.  It  is 
now  to  be  seen  how  far  they  or  America  are  to 
be  depended  upon.  .  .  .  There  never  was  such 
a  risk  run ;  I  hope  the  public  will  be  the  gainer, 
else  our  heads  must  answer  for  it,  and  deservedly." 
Such  were  the  grave  and  anxious  words  of  the 
prime  minister. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  this  commission  negotia- 
tions were  actively  resumed,  Franklin  and  Jay 
on  one  side,  Oswald  alone  on  the  other.  The  old 
ground  was  gone  over  again.  On  October  5-8, 
both  parties  assented  to  a  sketch  of  a  treaty, 
which  Oswald  transmitted  to  London  for  consid- 
eration by  the  ministry.  But  the  raising  of  the 
siege  of  Gibraltar,  and  reflection  upon  the  prob- 
able results  of  the  incipient  estrangement  between 
American  interests  and  those  of  France  and  Spain, 
now  induced  the  English  to  hope  for  more  favor- 
able terms  in  some  particulars.  So  instead  of 
adopting  this  draft  they  sent  over  Mr.  Strachey, 
a  man  especially  well  informed  concerning  the  dis- 
puted boundaries,  to  reinforce  Oswald  in  an  effort 
to  obtain  modifications  on  these  points. 

Meantime  another  serious  difference  of  opinion 
was  developed  between  Franklin  and  Jay.  The 
influence  of  de  Vergennes  at  Philadelphia  had 
by  no  means  been  exhausted  in  securing  colleagues 


378  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

for  Mr.  Adams.  He  had  further  desired  to  have 
the  American  envoys  instructed  that  no  American 
demands  outside  of  independence  must  be  allowed 
to  interpose  obstacles  in  the  way  of  French  pur- 
poses. In  this  he  had  been  wholly  successful. 
Of  the  demands  which  Congress  had  at  first 
intended  to  insist  upon,  one  after  another  was 
reduced  to  a  mere  recommendation,  until  at  last 
independence  alone  was  left  as  an  absolute  and 
definitive  ultimatum.  Moreover  the  closing  para- 
graph of  the  instructions  actually  bade  the  envoys 
to  maintain  constant  communication  with  their 
generous  ally  the  king  of  France,  and  in  the  last 
resort  to  be  governed  in  all  matters  by  his  advice. 
This  servility  had  raised  the  ire  of  Jay  almost  to 
the  point  of  inducing  him  to  refuse  a  post  so 
hedged  around  with  humiliation.  With  his  views 
concerning  the  intentions  of  de  Vergennes  it  now 
seemed  to  him  intolerable  to  jeopard  American 
interests  by  placing  them  at  the  mercy  of  a  cabinet 
which  unmistakably,  as  it  seemed  to  him,  designed 
to  sacrifice  them  to  its  own  ends.  Accordingly 
he  was  for  disobeying  this  unworthy  instruction 
of  Congress,  and  for  conducting  the  negotiation  in 
strict  secrecy  as  towards  the  French  minister. 
But  Franklin  was  no  less  resolute  on  the  other 
side.  His  established  and  grateful  confidence  in 
de  Vergennes  remained  unshaken,  and  he  saw  no 
error  in  consulting  the  wisest,  and  by  all  proofs 
the  best  and  truest  friend  whom  the  States  had 
ever  had.     Moreover  he  saw  that  the  orders  of 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  379 

Congress  were  imperative.  It  was  a  serious  di- 
vision. Fortunately  it  was  soon  settled  by  the 
advent  of  John  Adams,  about  the  end  of  October. 
That  gentleman,  prompt,  fearless,  and  suspicious, 
at  once  fell  in  with  Jay's  views.  In  a  long  even- 
ing's talk  he  apparently  read  Franklin  a  pretty 
severe  lecture,  and  certainly  ranged  himself  very 
positively  on  Jay's  side.  Franklin  listened  to 
his  vehement  colleague,  and  at  the  moment  held 
his  peace  in  his  wise  way.  It  was  true  that 
Adams  brought  the  casting  vote,  though  Franklin 
of  course  might  resist,  and  could  make  his  resist- 
ance effectual  by  communicating  to  de  Vergennes 
all  which  passed,  and  in  so  doing  he  would  be 
backed  by  the  authority  and  orders  of  Congress. 
But  he  determined  not  to  pursue  this  course. 
When  next  they  all  met  for  conference  he  turned 
to  Jay  and  said:  "I  am  of  your  opinion,  and  will 
go  on  without  consulting  this  court."  This  was 
all  that  passed  when  thus  for  a  second  time  Frank- 
lin surrendered.  Nothing  indicates  by  what  mo- 
tives he  was  influenced.  Some  writers  suggest 
that  he  had  a  lurking  notion  that  Jay's  views 
were  not  altogether  ill  founded;  but  later  he  de- 
clared the  contrary.1  Others  fancy  that  he  sim- 
ply yielded  to  a  majority  vote.  To  me  it  seems 
more  probable  that,  weighing  comparative  impor- 
tance, he  gave  in  to  what  he  conceived  to  be 
the  supreme  necessity  of  advancing  to  a  speedy 
conclusion ;  for,  as  has  been  said,  he  keenly  appre- 

1  Franklin's  Works,  viii.  305,  306. 


380  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

ciated  that  time  was  pressing.  Parliament  was 
to  meet  in  a  few  weeks,  on  November  26,  and  it 
daily  became  more  evident  that  if  a  treaty  was  to 
be  made  at  all,  it  must  be  consummated  before 
that  date.  Now,  as  in  the  question  concerning 
the  preliminary  acknowledgment  of  independence, 
peace  overruled  all  considerations  of  minor  points. 
If  this  was  indeed  his  end,  he  achieved  it,  for 
negotiations  were  now  zealously  pushed.  The 
important  question  of  the  western  boundaries  and 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  was  the  especial 
concern  of  Jay.  Spain  covertly  wished  to  see  the 
States  worsted  upon  these  demands,  and  confined 
between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  sea;  and  the 
Bourbon  family  compact  influenced  France  to  con- 
cur with  the  Spanish  plans.  But  in  the  secret 
treating  Jay  prevailed.  The  fisheries  were  the 
peculiar  affair  of  Adams,  as  the  representative  of 
New  England.  France  would  fain  have  had  the 
States  shut  out  from  them  altogether;  but  Adams 
carried  the  day.  Some  concessions  were  made 
concerning  the  collection  of  debts  owing  in  the 
States  to  Englishmen,  and  then  there  remained 
only  the  matter  of  indemnification  to  American 
royalists.  Upon  this  the  fight  was  waged  with 
zeal  by  all;  yet  Franklin  had  the  chief  responsi- 
bility to  bear.  For  there  now  arose  to  plague  him 
that  unfortunate  proposition  of  his  for  the  cession 
of  Canada  and  the  restoration  of  confiscated  Tory 
property  in  the  States.  This  encouraged  the  Eng- 
lish and  gave  them  a  sort  of  argument.     Moreover 


PEACE   NEGOTIATIONS  381 

the  indemnification  was  "uppermost  in  Lord  Shel- 
burne's  mind,"  because,  unlike  other  matters,  it 
seemed  a  point  of  honor.  With  what  face  could 
the  ministry  meet  Parliament  with  a  treaty  desert- 
ing all  those  who  had  been  faithful  to  their  king  ? 
It  was  indeed  a  delicate  position,  and  the  English 
were  stubborn;  but  no  less  so  was  Franklin,  upon 
the  other  side.  With  the  great  province  of  Can- 
ada as  an  offset,  or  quasi  fund,  the  States  might 
have  assumed  such  an  obligation,  but  without  it, 
never.  Further  the  American  commissioners  reit- 
erated the  explanation  often  given:  that  Con- 
gress had  no  power  in  the  premises,  for  the  matter 
lay  within  the  sovereign  jurisdiction  of  each  State. 
This  argument,  however,  really  amounted  to  no- 
thing; for  if  the  fact  was  so,  it  behooved  the  States 
to  give  their  agent,  the  Congress,  any  power  that 
was  necessary  for  making  a  fair  treaty;  and  Eng- 
land was  not  to  be  a  loser  by  reason  of  defects  in 
the  American  governmental  arrangements.  For 
a  while  it  really  seemed  that  the  negotiation  would 
be  wrecked  upon  this  issue,  so  immovable  was 
each  side.  As  Vaughan  wrote:  "If  England 
wanted  to  break,  she  could  not  wish  for  better 
ground  on  her  side.  You  do  not  break,  and 
therefore  I  conclude  you  both  sincere.  But  in 
this  way  I  see  the  treaty  is  likely  of  itself  to 
break." 

Franklin  now  ingeniously  counteracted  his  ear- 
lier imprudence  by  reviving  an  old  suggestion  of 
his,    that   immense    claims    might    be    preferred 


382  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

against  England  on  behalf  of  Americans  whose 
property  had  been  wantonly  destroyed,  especially 
by  the  burning  and  plundering  of  towns,  and  he 
actually  presented  an  article  providing  for  such 
compensation,  and  an  elaborate  written  paper 
sustaining  it.1  At  last  the  Englishmen  sought 
final  instructions  from  Lord  Shelburne.  He  re- 
plied with  spirit  that  it  should  be  understood  that 
England  was  not  yet  in  a  position  to  submit  to 
"humiliation,"  least  of  all  at  the  hands  of  Ameri- 
cans; but  finally  he  so  far  yielded  as  to  say  that 
indemnification  need  not  be  absolutely  an  ultima- 
tum. This  settled  the  matter;  the  negotiators 
who  could  yield  must  yield,  and  they  did  so.  A 
sort  of  compromise  article  was  inserted:  "that 
Congress  should  recommend  to  the  state  legisla- 
tures to  restore  the  estates,  rights,  and  properties 
of  real  British  subjects."  The  American  envoys 
knew  that  this  was  worthless,  and  the  English 
negotiators  certainly  were  not  deceived.  But  the 
article  sounded  well,  and  gave  at  least  a  standing 
ground  for   the    ministry  to    defend   themselves.2 

1  Franklin's  Works,  viii.  218,  text  and  note. 

2  It  is  not  without  interest  in  this  connection  to  remark  that 
Franklin  was  very  ill  disposed  towards  the  "loyalists,"  having 
scant  toleration  for  their  choice  of  a  party.  For  a  man  of  his 
liberality  and  moderation  his  language  concerning  them  was 
severe.  He  objected  to  calling  them  "  loyalists,"  thinking  "  roy- 
alists "  a  more  correct  description.  To  indemnification  of  their 
losses  by  Parliament  he  had  "no  objection,"  for  the  damnatory 
reason  that  "  even  a  hired  assassin  has  a  right  to  his  pay  from 
his  employer."  Franklin's  Works,  ix.  133.  He  often  spoke  in 
the  like  tone  about  these  people.     See,  for  example,  Works,  ix. 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  383 

On  November  30  the  articles  were  at  last  signed, 
with  the  stipulation  that  they  were  for  the  present 
merely  preliminary  and  provisional,  and  that  they 
should  be  executed  as  a  definitive  treaty  only 
simultaneously  with  the  execution  of  a  treaty  of 
peace  between  France  and  England. 

The  business  was  finished  none  too  soon.  In 
order  to  cover  it  the  meeting  of  Parliament  had 
been  postponed  until  December  5.  The  danger 
which  had  been  escaped,  and  which  would  not 
have  been  escaped  had  Franklin  had  a  less  correct 
appreciation  of  relative  values  in  the  negotiation, 
at  once  became  apparent.  The  howl  of  condem- 
nation swelled  loud  in  the  House  of  Commons;  it 
was  felt  that  the  ministry  had  made  not  a  treaty 
but  a  "capitulation."  The  unfortunate  Shelburne 
was  driven  out  of  power,  pursued  by  an  angry 
outcry  from  persons  altogether  incapable  of  appre- 
ciating the  sound  statesmanship  and  the  wise  fore- 
cast of  the  future  advantage  of  England  which  he 
had  shown  in  preferring  to  give  the  colonies  a 
chance  to  become  a  great,  English-speaking,  Eng- 
lish-sympathizing, commercial  people,  rather  than 
to  feed  fat  the  aspirations  of  France  and  Spain. 
These  proceedings  would  have  been  good  evidence, 
had  evidence  been  wanting,  that  the  American 
commissioners  had  done  a  brilliant  piece  of  work. 
De  Vergennes  also  added  his  testimony,  saying: 

70,  72.  But  when  the  war  was  over  and  the  natural  mildness  of 
his  disposition  could  resume  its  sway,  he  once  at  least  spoke  more 
gently  of  them.     Ibid.  415. 


384  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

"The  English  have  bought  the  peace  rather  than 
made  it." 

If  the  original  instructions  given  to  Oswald 
are  compared  with  the  treaty  it  will  be  found  that 
England  had  conceded  much;  on  the  other  hand 
the  Americans,  with  no  ultimatum  save  independ- 
ence, had  gained  in  substance  all  that  they  had 
dared  seriously  to  insist  upon.  One  would  think 
that  Franklin,  Jay,  and  Adams  had  fairly  won 
warm  gratitude  at  the  hands  of  their  countrymen. 
Posterity,  at  least  since  the  publication  of  long 
suppressed  private  papers  and  archives  has  shown 
what  powerful  occult  influences  were  at  work  to 
thwart  them,  regards  their  achievement  with  un- 
limited admiration.  But  at  that  time  a  different 
feeling  prevailed. 

No  sooner  were  the  preliminary  or  provisional 
articles  signed  than  Franklin  informed  de  Ver- 
gennes  of  the  fact.  That  minister  was  much  sur- 
prised. He  had  been  quietly  biding  his  time, 
expecting  to  be  invoked  when  the  English  and  the 
Americans  should  find  themselves  stopped  by  that 
deadlock  which  he  had  done  his  best  to  bring 
about  by  his  secret  intimations  to  England.  He 
was  now  astonished  to  learn  that  England  had  not 
availed  herself  of  his  astute  suggestions,  but  had 
given  terms  which  the  Americans  had  gladly  ac- 
cepted. The  business  was  all  done,  and  the  clever 
diplomat  had  not  had  his  chance.  At  first  he  said 
nothing,  but  for  a  few  days  pondered  the  matter. 
Then  on  December  15  he  disburdened  his   mind 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  385 

in  a  very  sharp  letter  to  Franklin.  "I  am  at  a 
loss,"  he  wrote,  "to  explain  your  conduct  and 
that  of  your  colleagues  on  this  occasion.  You 
have  concluded  your  preliminary  articles  without 
any  communication  between  us,  although  the  in- 
structions from  Congress  prescribe  that  nothing 
shall  be  done  without  the  participation  of  the 
king.  You  are  about  to  hold  out  a  certain  hope 
of  peace  to  America,  without  even  informing  your- 
self of  the  state  of  the  negotiation  on  our  part. 
You  are  wise  and  discreet,  sir;  you  perfectly 
understand  what  is  due  to  propriety;  you  have 
all  your  life  performed  your  duties;  I  pray  you 
consider  how  you  propose  to  fulfill  those  which 
are  due  to  the  king." 

Franklin  found  himself  in  a  painful  position; 
for  he  could  by  no  means  deny  that  he  had  duties, 
or  at  least  something  very  near  akin  to  duties, 
to  the  king,  imposed  upon  him  by  numerous  and 
weighty  obligations  which  at  his  request  had  been 
conferred  upon  him  and  accepted  by  him  on  behalf 
of  the  American  people.  The  violation  of  the 
instructions  of  Congress  gave  to  the  secret  treating 
too  much  the  air  of  an  insulting  distrust,  of  the 
throwing  over  a  friend  when  he  had  been  suffi- 
ciently used;  for  whatever  might  be  suspected, 
it  could  by  no  means  be  proved  that  de  Vergennes 
was  not  still  the  sincere  friend  which  he  certainly 
long  had  been.  This  bore  hard  upon  Franklin. 
The  policy  which  in  fact  had  been  forced  upon 
him   against  his  will  by  his  colleagues  was  now 


386  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

made  a  matter  of  personal  reproach  against  him 
especially,  because  he  was  persistently  regarded  as 
the  head  and  front  of  the  commission;  no  Euro- 
pean yet  dreamed  of  considering  any  other  Ameri- 
can as  of  much  consequence  in  any  matter  in 
which  Franklin  was  concerned.  During  long 
years  de  Vergennes  had  been  his  constant  and 
efficient  adviser  and  assistant  in  many  a  day  of 
trial  and  of  stress,  and  Franklin  believed  him  to 
be  still  an  honest  well-wisher  to  the  States.  More- 
over it  actually  was  only  a  very  few  weeks  since 
Franklin  had  applied  for  and  obtained  a  new  loan 
at  a  time  when  the  king  was  so  pressed  for  his 
own  needs  that  a  lottery  was  projected,  and  bills 
drawn  by  his  own  officials  were  going  to  protest. 
All  this  made  the  secrecy  which  had  been  prac- 
ticed seem  almost  like  duplicity  on  Franklin's 
part,  and  he  felt  keenly  the  ill  light  in  which  he 
was  placed.  It  is  true  that  if  he  had  known  then 
all  that  we  know  now,  his  mind  would  have  been 
at  ease;  but  he  did  not  know  it,  and  he  was  seri- 
ously disturbed  at  the  situation  into  which  he  had 
been  brought. 

But  his  usual  skill  did  not  desert  him,  and  his 
reply  was  aptly  framed  and  prompt.  "Nothing," 
he  said,  "had  been  agreed  in  the  preliminaries 
contrary  to  the  interests  of  France ;  and  no  peace 
is  to  take  place  between  us  and  England  till  you 
have  concluded  yours.  Your  observation  is,  how- 
ever, apparently  just  that,  in  not  consulting  you 
before  they  were  signed,  we  have  been  guilty  of 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  387 

neglecting  a  point  of  bienseance.  But  as  this 
was  not  from  want  of  respect  for  the  king,  whom 
we  all  love  and  honor,  we  hope  it  will  be  excused, 
and  that  the  great  work  which  has  hitherto  been 
so  happily  conducted,  is  so  nearly  brought  to 
perfection,  and  is  so  glorious  to  his  reign,  will 
not  be  ruined  by  a  single  indiscretion  of  ours. 
And  certainly  the  whole  edifice  sinks  to  the  ground 
immediately  if  you  refuse  on  that  account  to  give 
us  any  further  assistance.  ...  It  is  not  possible 
for  any  one  to  be  more  sensible  than  I  am  of  what 
I  and  every  American  owe  to  the  king  for  the 
many  and  great  benefits  and  favors  he  has  be- 
stowed upon  us.  .  .  .  The  JZnglish,  I  just  now 
learn,  flatter  themselves  they  have  already  divided 
us.  I  hope  this  little  misunderstanding  will, 
therefore,  be  kept  a  secret,  and  that  they  will  find 
themselves  totally  mistaken." 

This  letter  in  a  measure  accomplished  its  sooth- 
ing errand.  Yet  de  Vergennes  did  not  refrain 
from  writing  to  de  la  Luzerne  that  "the  reserva- 
tion retained  on  our  account  does  not  save  the 
infraction  of  the  promise,  which  we  have  mutually 
made,  not  to  sign  except  conjointly;"  and  he  said 
that  it  would  be  "proper  that  the  most  influential 
members  of  Congress  should  be  informed  of  the 
very  irregular  conduct  of  their  commissioners  in 
regard  to  us,"  though  "not  in  the  tone  of  com- 
plaint." "I  accuse  no  person,"  he  added,  "not 
even  Dr.  Franklin.  He  has  yielded  too  easily 
to  the  bias  of  his  colleagues,  who  do  not  pretend 


388  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

to  recognize  the  rules  of  courtesy  in  regard  to  us. 
All  their  attentions  have  been  taken  up  by  the 
English  whom  they  have  met  in  Paris." 

So  soon  as  the  facts  were  known  in  the  States 
expressions  of  condemnation  were  lavished  upon 
the  commissioners  by  members  of  Congress  who 
thought  that  the  secrecy  as  towards  France  was 
an  inexcusable  slight  to  a  generous  and  faithful 
ally.  Livingston,  as  secretary  for  foreign  affairs, 
wrote  to  the  envoys,  commending  the  treaty,  but 
finding  fault  with  the  manner  of  attaining  it. 
Jay,  angered  at  the  injustice  of  a  reproof  which 
belonged  more  especially  to  him,  drew  up  an  ex- 
culpatory statement.  But  Franklin,  showing  his 
usual  good  sense  and  moderation,  sought  to  miti- 
gate Jay's  indignation,  drew  all  the  sting  out  of 
the  document,  and  insisted  upon  leaving  the  vin- 
dication to  time  and  second  thoughts.  For  his 
own  part  Franklin  not  only  had  to  take  his  full 
share  of  the  reproaches  heaped  upon  the  commis- 
sioners for  insulting  France,  but  upon  the  other 
hand  he  was  violently  assaulted  on  the  quite  oppo- 
site ground,  that  he  had  desired  to  be  too  subser- 
vient to  that  power.  Many  persons  insisted  that 
he  "favored,  or  did  not  oppose,"  the  designs  of 
France  to  rule  out  the  States  from  the  fisheries, 
and  to  curtail  their  boundaries;  and  that  it  was 
only  due  to  the  "firmness,  sagacity,  and  disinter- 
estedness "  of  Jay  and  Adams  that  these  mischiefs 
were  escaped. 

Such  were  the  fault-findings  and  criminations 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  389 

to  which  the  diplomatic  complexities,  which  it 
was  impossible  then  to  unravel,  gave  rise.  For- 
tunately they  were  soon  rendered  mere  personal 
and  abstract  disputes,  of  little  practical  conse- 
quence, by  the  simultaneous  execution  of  defini- 
tive treaties  by  France  and  the  United  States 
with  Great  Britain  on  September  3,  1783.  Many 
efforts  had  been  made  to  insert  additional  articles, 
especially  as  to  commercial  matters;  but  they 
were  all  abortive.  The  establishment  of  peace 
had  exhausted  the  capacity  of  the  States  and 
England  to  agree  together;  and  the  pressure  of 
war  being  removed,  they  at  once  fell  into  very 
inimical  attitudes.  So  the  definitive  treaty  was 
substantially  identical  with  the  provisional  one. 

Franklin,  after  a  while,  finding  that  these 
charges  of  his  having  preferred  France  to  his  own 
country  were  being  reiterated  with  such  innuen- 
does as  to  bring  his  integrity  into  serious  question, 
felt  it  necessary  to  appeal  to  his  colleagues  for 
vindication.  He  wrote  to  them  a  modest,  manly 
letter,1  and  in  reply  received  from  Jay  a  generous 
testimonial,2  and  from  Adams  a  carefully  narrow 
acquittal.3  The  subsequent  publication  of  Frank- 
lin's papers  written  at,  and  long  before,  the  time 
of  the  negotiation,  shows  that  he  was  inclined  to 
demand  from  Great  Britain  fully  as  much  as  any 
American  upon  either  side  of  the  ocean. 

In  taking  leave  of  the  subject  it  is  interesting 

1  Works,  viii.  340 ;  and  see  Ibid.  353. 

2  Ibid.  350.  3  Ibid.  354. 


390  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

to  know  that  in  point  of  fact  the  secret  action 
of  the  American  commissioners  was  very  nearly 
fraught  with  serious  injury  to  France.  For  when 
the  States  were  practically  eliminated  from  active 
war  by  the  signing  of  the  provisional  articles,  five 
members  of  Shelburne's  cabinet  were  in  favor  of 
breaking  off  negotiations  with.  France,  and  contin- 
uing the  contest  with  her.1 

During  the  negotiation  Franklin  wrote  to  Lau- 
rens: "I  have  never  yet  known  of  a  peace  made 
that  did  not  occasion  a  great  deal  of  popular  dis- 
content, clamor,  and  censure  on  both  sides,  .  .  . 
so  that  the  blessing  promised  to  peacemakers,  I 
fancy,  relates  to  the  next  world,  for  in  this  they 
seem  to  have  a  greater  chance  of  being  cursed. " 
The  prognostication  was  fulfilled.  The  act  which 
gave  peace  to  the  warring  nations  brought  any- 
thing but  good  will  among  the  American  negotia- 
tors. Jay  was  so  just,  conscientious,  and  irre- 
proachable a  gentleman  in  every  respect  that  he 
escaped  unvexed  by  any  personal  quarrel;  more- 
over he  was  not  so  distinguished  as  to  have  become 
the  victim  of  envy  and  jealousy.  But  the  anti- 
pathy previously  so  unhappily  existing  between 
Franklin  and  Adams  became  greatly  aggravated, 

1  I  have  not  endeavored  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  this  ne- 
gotiation, though  the  narrative  would  be  very  interesting,  because 
it  finds  its  proper  place  in  the  life  of  John  Jay  in  this  Series.  In 
that  volume  there  is  a  very  full  and  accurate  presentation  of  this 
entire  affair,  drawn  from  those  sources  which  have  only  very  re- 
cently become  public,  and  which  go  far  to  remove  former  ques- 
tions out  of  the  realm  of  discussion. 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  391 

and  their  respective  advocates  in  historical  liter- 
ature have  not  to  this  day  reached  an  accord. 
Adams  was  a  relentless  hater,  and  has  bequeathed 
bitter  diatribes,  which,  as  they  can  never  be  oblit- 
erated, can  never  cease  to  excite  the  ire  of  the 
admirers  of  Franklin.  On  the  other  side,  Frank- 
lin has  at  least  the  merit  of  having  left  not  a 
malicious  line  behind  him.  I  have  no  mind  to 
endeavor  to  apportion  merits  and  demerits  be- 
tween these  two  great  foemen,  able  men  and  true 
patriots  both,  having  no  room  for  these  personali- 
ties of  history,  which,  though  retaining  that  kind 
of  interest  always  pertaining  to  a  feud,  are  really 
very  little  profitable.  Perhaps,  after  all,  the  dis- 
cussion would  prove  to  be  not  unlike  the  classic 
one  which  led  two  knights  to  fight  about  the 
golden-silver  shield. 

Yet  one  dispute,  which  has  been  long  waged, 
no  longer  admits  of  doubt.  The  suspicions  of 
the  good  faith  of  de  Vergennes  which  Jay  first 
entertained,  which  Adams  adopted,  and  which 
Franklin  rejected,  were  undoubtedly  correct.  As 
the  years  go  by  and  collections  of  private  papers 
and  of  hitherto  suppressed  public  archives  find 
their  way  to  the  light,  the  accumulated  evidence 
to  this  effect  has  become  overwhelming.  Such 
being  the  case,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
vital  merit  in  the  conduct  of  this  difficult  nego- 
tiation rests  with  Jay ;  that  Adams  has  the  credit 
belonging  to  one  who  accepts  a  correct  view 
when   presented  to  him;    and  that  Franklin  did 


392  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

more  wisely  than  he  knew  in  twice  assenting  to  a 
course  which  seemed  to  him  based  upon  erroneous 
beliefs. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  that  from  the  very 
outset  Franklin  was  not  less  resolute  than  was 
Adams  about  the  fisheries;  and  that  he  was  in 
perfect  accord  with  Jay  about  the  western  bounda- 
ries and  the  Mississippi ;  though  Adams  and  Jay 
did  most  of  the  talking  concerning  these  subjects, 
respectively.  When  it  came  to  the  even  more 
difficult  matter  of  the  royalists,  Franklin  in  turn 
took  the  laboring  oar.  So  far  therefore  as  the 
three  cardinal  points  of  the  negotiation  were  con- 
cerned honors  were  very  evenly  divided.  But  the 
value  of  Franklin's  contribution  to  the  treating 
is  not  to  be  measured  either  by  his  backwardness 
in  supporting  Jay  in  certain  points,  or  by  his  firm 
attitude  about  boundaries,  royalists,  and  fisheries. 
All  these  things  he  had  outlined  and  arranged 
with  Oswald  at  an  early  stage  in  the  negotiating. 
Later  he  fell  seriously  ill  and  was  for  a  long 
while  in  no  fit  condition  for  work.  Yet  the  treaty 
seemed  to  be  made  under  his  auspices.  In  read- 
ing the  great  quantity  of  diaries  and  correspond- 
ence which  relate  to  the  transactions,  many  a 
passage  indicates  the  sense  of  respect  with  which 
he  was  looked  up  to.  The  high  opinion  enter- 
tained of  his  ability,  integrity,  and  fair-minded- 
ness influenced  very  powerfully  the  minds  of  the 
English  ministry  and  their  envoys.  "I  am  dis- 
posed,"  said    Shelburne,    "to   expect    everything 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  393 

from  Dr.  Franklin's  comprehensive  understanding 
and  character."  The  like  feeling,  strengthened 
by  personal  confidence  and  regard,  went  far  to 
keep  de  Vergennes  from  untimely  intermeddling 
and  from  advancing  embarrassing  claims  of  super- 
vision. Altogether,  it  was  again  the  case  that 
Franklin's  prestige  in  Europe  was  invaluable  to 
America,  and  it  is  certainly  true  that  beneath  its 
protection  Jay  and  Adams  were  able  to  do  their 
work  to  advantage.  Had  they  stood  alone  they 
would  have  encountered  difficulties  which  would 
have  seriously  curtailed  their  efforts.1  It  is  truth 
and  not  theory  that  Franklin's  mere  name  and 
presence  were  sufficient  to  balance  the  scale  against 
the  abilities  and  the  zeal  of  both  his  coadjutors. 

It  seems  hardly  necessary  to  endeavor  to  palli- 
ate Franklin's  error  in  failing  to  detect  the  dupli- 
city of  de  Vergennes.  On  the  contrary,  it  would 
give  a  less  agreeable  idea  of  him  had  he  been 
ready  to  believe  so  ill  of  an  old  and  tried  friend. 
For  years  Franklin  had  been  the  medium  through 
whom  had  passed  countless  benefits  from  France 
to  the  States,  benefits  of  which  many  had  been 
costly  and  inconvenient  for  the  giver;  he  had 
been  treated  with  high  consideration  at  this  court, 
when  no  other  court  in  all  Europe  would  even 
receive  an  American  ambassador;  he  had  enjoyed 
every  possible  token  of  esteem  and  confidence 
both  personally  and  in  his  official  capacity;   he 

1  See,  for  example,  Franklin's   Works,  viii.  29,  67,  note,  69,  70, 
77,  109,  112,  note,  133,  note,  260. 


394  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

had  ever  found  fair  words  backed  by  no  less  fair 
deeds.  In  short,  the  vast  mass  of  visible  evidence 
seemed  to  him  to  lie,  and  in  fact  did  lie,  all  on 
one  side.  On  September  13,  1781,  writing  to 
the  president  of  Congress,  he  said  that  de  Ver- 
gennes  had  just  read  to  him  a  copy  of  the  instruc- 
tions prepared  by  Congress  for  the  commissioners, 
and  that  the  minister  "expressed  his  satisfaction 
with  the  unreserved  confidence  placed  in  his  court 
by  the  Congress,  assuring  me  that  they  would 
never  have  cause  to  regret  it,  for  that  the  king 
had  the  honor  of  the  United  States  at  heart,  as 
well  as  their  welfare  and  independence.  Indeed, 
this  has  been  already  manifested  in  the  negotia- 
tions relative  to  the  plenipotentiaries ;  and  I  have 
already  had  so  much  experience  of  his  majesty's 
goodness  to  us,  in  the  aids  afforded  us  from  time 
to  time,  and  by  the  sincerity  of  this  upright  and 
able  minister,  who  never  promised  me  anything 
that  he  did  not  punctually  perform,  that  I  cannot 
but  think  the  confidence  well  and  judiciously 
placed,  and  that  it  will  have  happy  effects." 
Every  event  in  the  history  of  many  years  made 
it  natural  and  right  for  Franklin  to  feel  in  this 
way;  and  it  surely  was  no  cause  for  distrust  that 
de  Vergennes  had  had  the  interest  of  France  in 
mind  as  an  original  motive  for  aiding  America, 
when  throughout  the  war  Franklin  had  witnessed 
France  straining  every  nerve  and  taxing  every 
resource  to  aid  her  ally,  in  perfect  sincerity;  and 
when  also,  upon  the   suggestion  of  negotiations, 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  395 

he  had  just  seen  de  Vergennes  adhere  rigidly  to 
his  word  to  do  no  treating  save  collaterally  with 
the  Americans,  and  refuse  to  take  advantage  of 
Grenville's  efforts  to  reach  the  Americans  through 
the  French  minister.  Even  though  de  Vergennes 
had  disapproved  the  delay  caused  by  Jay's  objec- 
tion to  the  form  of  the  commission,  still  he  had 
honorably  stayed  his  own  negotiation  until  that 
matter  was  favorably  settled.  Early  in  the  nego- 
tiations Grenville  said  to  Franklin  that  the  States 
owed  no  gratitude  to  France,  since  she  had  in  fact 
only  promoted  her  own  interests.  The  remark 
excited  Franklin's  indignation,  and  he  says:  "I 
told  him  I  was  so  strongly  impressed  with  the 
kind  assistance  afforded  us  by  France  in  our 
distress,  and  the  generous  and  noble  manner  in 
which  it  was  granted,  without  extracting  or  stipu- 
lating for  a  single  privilege  or  particular  advan- 
tage to  herself  in  our  commerce,  or  otherwise, 
that  I  could  never  suffer  myself  to  think  of  such 
reasonings  for  lessening  the  obligation,  and  I 
hoped,  and  indeed  did  not  doubt,  but  my  country- 
men were  all  of  the  same  sentiments. "  The  words 
do  his  heart  none  the  less  honor,  because  it  has 
been  since  discovered  that  his  confidence  was  too 
implicit.  In  truth  de  Vergennes  had  been  ex- 
tremely scrupulous  and  delicate  throughout,  in 
all  matters  which  could  fall  within  the  observation 
of  the  Americans.  At  the  outset  he  said  to 
Franklin:  the  English  "want  to  treat  with  us  for 
you;   but   this  the  king  will  not  agree  to.     He 


396  BENJAMIN  FKANKLIN 

thinks  it  not  consistent  with  the  dignity  of  your 
state.  You  will  treat  for  yourselves;  and  every 
one  of  the  powers  at  war  will  make  its  own  treaty. 
All  that  is  necessary  is  that  the  treaties  go  hand 
in  hand,  and  are  all  signed  on  the  same  day." 
Thus,  to  one  who  could  believe  de  Yergennes, 
everything  seemed  fair  and  sincere,  and  Franklin 
at  least  had  a  right  to  believe  de  Vergennes. 

Furthermore  it  was  not  until  negotiations  ac- 
tually began  that  the  previous  condition  of  French 
relationship,  as  Franklin  had  well  known  it  for 
many  years,  underwent  a  sudden  and  complete 
change.  Then  at  last  were  presented  new  tempta- 
tions before  which  friendship  and  good  faith  could 
not  stand,  and  each  nation,  keeping  a  decorous 
exterior,  anxiously  studied  its  own  advantage. 
It  was  the  trying  hour  when  the  spoils  were  to 
be  divided.  The  States  themselves  preferred  the 
profit  of  their  enemy  England  to  that  of  their 
half -friend  Spain.  Franklin  did  not  appreciate 
this  quick  turning  of  the  kaleidoscope,  with  the 
instant  change  of  all  the  previous  political  prox- 
imities; in  view  of  his  age,  his  infirmities,  his 
recent  experience  in  France,  and  his  habitual  gen- 
erous faith  in  his  fellow  men,  this  failure  should 
give  rise  neither  to  surprise  nor  censure. 

In  1782,  after  signing  the  preliminary  articles, 
Franklin  a  second  time  sent  to  Congress  his  resig- 
nation. He  received  no  reply  to  this  communi- 
cation, and  again,  therefore,  after  the  execution 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  397 

of  the  definitive  treaty,  he  renewed  his  request  to 
be  relieved.  But  still  Congress  delayed.  They 
wished  to  enter  into  commercial  treaties  with  the 
European  nations,  and  in  spite  of  the  rebukes 
which  their  chairman  of  the  committee  for  foreign 
affairs  had  administered  to  Franklin,  Jay,  and 
Adams,  they  now  showed  no  readiness  to  remove 
these  gentlemen  from  the  diplomatic  service. 
Franklin  accordingly  remained  in  Paris,  probably 
with  no  great  reluctance,  for  he  was  attached  to 
the  place  and  the  people,  and  his  affection  was 
warmly  returned.  It  was  a  light  labor  to  conduct 
the  negotiations  for  the  desired  commercial  trea- 
ties. Sweden,  Denmark,  Portugal,  and  even  Mo- 
rocco, all  made  advances  to  him  almost  immedi- 
ately after  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  peace.  For 
the  most  part  he  had  the  gratification  of  success. 
His  last  official  act,  just  before  his  departure  from 
Paris,  was  the  signature  of  a  treaty  with  Prussia, 
in  which  it  was  agreed  to  abolish  privateering,1 
and  to  hold  private  property  by  land  and  sea 
secure  from  destruction  in  time  of  war.  It  was 
pleasant  thus  to  be  introducing  his  country  to 
the  handshaking,  so  to  speak,  of  the  old  estab- 
lished  nations  of  the  world.  So  his  life  glided 
on  agreeably.  He  was  recognized  as  one  of  the 
most  illustrious  men  living;  and  to  enjoy  such 
a  reputation  in  Paris  in  those  days,  especially 
when  it  was  supplemented  by  personal  popularity, 
was  to   find  one's  self   in  the  enjoyment  of   all 

1  See  letter  to  Hartley,  Franklin's  Works,  viii.  287. 


398  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

which  the  world  could  bestow  to  make  delightful 
days. 

In  August,  1784,  Jefferson  arrived  to  assist  in 
the  commercial  business.  But  it  was  not  until 
March,  1785,  that  Congress  at  last  voted  that 
Franklin  might  "return  to  America  as  soon  as 
convenient,"  and  that  Jefferson  should  succeed 
him  as  minister  at  the  French  court.  Jefferson 
has  borne  good  testimony  to  Franklin's  situation, 
as  he  observed  it.  A  few  years  later,  in  Febru- 
ary, 1791,  he  wrote:  "I  can  only  therefore  testify 
in  general  that  there  appeared  to  me  more  respect 
and  veneration  attached  to  the  character  of  Dr. 
Franklin  in  France,  than  to  that  of  any  other 
person  in  the  same  country,  foreign  or  native.  I 
had  opportunities  of  knowing  particularly  how  far 
these  sentiments  were  felt  by  the  foreign  ambassa- 
dors and  ministers  at  the  court  of  Versailles.  .  .  . 
I  found  the  ministers  of  France  equally  impressed 
with  the  talents  and  integrity  of  Dr.  Franklin. 
The  Count  de  Vergennes  particularly  gave  me 
repeated  and  unequivocal  demonstrations  of  his 
entire  conftW  in, W'^he^eff^n^g. 
asked:  C  est  vous.  Monsieur,  qui  remplace  le 
^  Docteur  Franklin?"  he  used  to  reply:  "No  one 
can  replace  him,  sir;  I  am  only  his  successor;" 
and  we  may  be  sure  that  the  Frenchmen  appre- 
ciated and  fully  agreed  with  an  expression  of 
courtesy  which  chimed  so  well  with  their  own 
customs  of  speech.  Later,  in  1818,  Jefferson 
wrote  an  interesting  letter  concerning  the  calum- 


PEACE  NEGOTIATIONS  399 

nies  from  which  Franklin's  reputation  still  suf- 
fered :  — 

"  Dr.  Franklin  had  many  political  enemies,  as  every 
character  must  which,  with  decision  enough  to  have 
opinions,  has  energy  and  talent  to  give  them  effect  on 
the  feelings  of  the  adversary  opinion.  These  enmities 
were  chiefly  in  Pennsylvania  and  Massachusetts.  In 
the  former  they  were  merely  of  the  proprietary  party. 
In  the  latter  they  did  not  commence  till  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  then  sprung  chiefly  from  personal  animosities, 
which,  spreading  by  little  and  little,  became  at  length  of 
some  extent.  Dr.  Lee  was  his  principal  calumniator,  a 
man  of  much  malignity,  who,  besides  enlisting  his  whole 
family  in  the  same  hostility,  was  enabled,  as  the  agent  of 
Massachusetts  with  the  British  government,  to  infuse  it 
into  that  State  with  considerable  effect.  Mr.  Izard,  the 
doctor's  enemy  also,  but  from  a  pecuniary  transaction, 
never  countenanced  these  charges  against  him.  Mr.  Jay, 
Silas  Deane,  Mr.  Laurens,  his  colleagues  also,  ever  main- 
tained towards  him  unlimited  confidence  and  respect. 
That  he  would  have  waived  the  formal  recognition  of 
our  independence,  I  never  heard  on  any  authority 
worthy  notice.  As  to  the  fisheries,  England  was  urgent 
to  retain  them  exclusively,  France  neutral,  and  I  believe 
that,  had  they  ultimately  been  made  a  sine  qud  non,  our 
commissioners  (Mr.  Adams  excepted)  would  have  re- 
linquished them  rather  than  have  broken  off  the  treaty. 
To  Mr.  Adams's  perseverance  alone,  on  that  point,  I 
have  always  understood  we  were  indebted  for  their  re- 
servation. As  to  the  charge  of  subservience  to  France, 
besides  the  evidence  of  his  friendly  colleagues  before 
named,  two  years  of  my  own  service  with  him  at  Paris, 


400  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

daily  visits,  and  the  most  friendly  and  confidential  con- 
versation, convince  me  it  had  not  a  shadow  of  founda- 
tion. He  possessed  the  confidence  of  that  government  in 
the  highest  degree,  insomuch  that  it  may  truly  be  said 
that  they  were  more  under  his  influence  than  he  under 
theirs.  The  fact  is  that  his  temper  was  so  amiable  and 
conciliatory,  his  conduct  so  rational,  never  urging  impos- 
sibilities, or  even  things  unreasonably  inconvenient  to 
them,  in  short  so  moderate  and  attentive  to  their  diffi- 
culties, as  well  as  our  own,  that  what  his  enemies  called 
subserviency  I  saw  was  only  that  reasonable  disposition 
which,  sensible  that  advantages  are  not  all  to  be  on  one 
side,  yielding  what  is  just  and  liberal,  is  the  more  cer- 
tain of  obtaining  liberality  and  justice.  Mutual  confi- 
dence produces  of  course  mutual  influence,  and  this  was 
all  which  subsisted  between  Dr.  Franklin  and  the  gov- 
ernment of  France."  * 

"When  at  last,  in  the  summer  of  1785,  Franklin 
took  his  farewell  of  the  much-loved  land  of  France, 
the  distinguished  attentions  which  he  received  left 
no  doubt  of  the  admiration  in  which  he  was  held. 
Indeed,  many  persons  pressed  him  to  remain  in 
France,  and  three  offered  him  homes  in  their  own 
families,  telling  him  that  not  even  in  America 
could  he  expect  esteem  and  love  so  unalloyed  as 
he  enjoyed  in  France,  and  warning  him  also  that 
he  might  not  survive  the  voyage.  But  he  said: 
"The  desire  of  spending  the  little  remainder  of 
life  with  my  family  is  so  strong  as  to  determine 
me  to  try  at  least  whether  I  can  bear  the  motion 

1  Jefferson's  Works,  vii.  108. 


FEACE   NEGOTIATIONS  401 

of  the  ship.  If  not,  I  must  get  them  to  set  me 
ashore  somewhere  in  the  Channel  and  content 
myself  to  die  in  Europe."  When  the  day  of 
departure  from  Passy  came  "it  seemed,"  said 
Jefferson,  "as  if  the  village  had  lost  its  patri- 
arch." His  infirmities  rendered  the  motion  of  a 
carriage  painful  to  him,  and  the  king  therefore 
placed  at  his  disposal  one  of  the  queen's  litters, 
which  bore  him  by  easy  stages  to  the  seacoast. 
He  carried  with  him  the  customary  complimentary 
portrait  of  the  king;  but  it  was  far  beyond  the 
ordinary  magnificence,  for  it  was  framed  in  a 
double  circle  of  four  hundred  and  eight  diamonds, 
and  was  of  unusual  cost  and  beauty.  On  July  18 
he  arrived  at  Havre,  and  crossed  the  Channel  to 
take  ship  at  Portsmouth.  The  British  govern- 
ment offset  the  discourtesy  with  which  it  was 
irritating  Mr.  Adams  by  ordering  that  the  effects 
of  Dr.  Franklin's  party  should  be  exempt  from 
the  usual  examination  at  the  custom  house.  His 
old  friend,  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  "America's 
constant  friend,"  came  to  see  him.  So  also  did 
his  Tory  son,  the  ex-governor  of  New  Jersey,  with 
whom  a  sort  of  reconciliation  had  been  patched 
up.  He  sailed  with  Captain,  afterward  Commo- 
dore, Truxton,  who  found  him  a  most  agreeable 
companion. 

Of  all  things  in  the  world  a  sea  voyage  most 
induces  to  utter  idleness,  and  it  is  a  striking  proof 
of  the  mental  industry  of  this  aged  man  that 
during  the  seven  weeks  of  this  summer  passage 


402  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

across  the  Atlantic  he  wrote  three  essays,  which 
remain  among  his  best.  But  he  never  in  his  life 
found  a  few  weeks  in  which  his  mind  was  relieved 
from  enforced  reflection  upon  affairs  of  business 
that  he  did  not  take  his  pen  in  hand  for  voluntary 
tasks.  During  the  last  eighteen  months  of  his 
life  in  Paris  all  the  social  distractions  incident  to 
his  distinguished  position  had  not  prevented  his 
writing  some  of  the  best  papers  which  he  has 
bequeathed  to  literature. 


CHAPTER   XV 

AT  HOME:    PRESIDENT   OF  PENNSYLVANIA:   THE 
CONSTITUTIONAL   CONVENTION:    DEATH 

On  September  12,  1785,  the  ship  brought 
Franklin  into  Delaware  Bay,  and  the  next  morn- 
ing he  rejoiced  to  find  himself  "in  full  view  of 
dear  Philadelphia."  A  multitude,  filling  the  air 
with  huzzas  of  salutation,  greeted  his  landing  and 
escorted  him  to  his  door.  Private  welcomes  and 
public  addresses  poured  in  upon  him.  His  health 
had  been  much  improved  by  the  sea  air  and  rest, 
and  he  rejoiced,  as  his  foot  touched  the  streets 
of  the  town  which  after  all  his  wanderings  was 
his  home,  to  feel  himself  by  no  means  yet  a  worn- 
out  man,  though  in  fact  he  had  seventy -nine  years 
of  a  busy  life  behind  him.  His  fellow  citizens 
evidently  thought  that  the  reservoir  which  had 
been  so  bountiful  could  not  yet  be  near  exhaus- 
tion, and  were  resolved  to  continue  their  copious 
draughts  upon  it.  They  at  once  elected  him  to 
the  State  Council,  of  which  he  was  made  Presi- 
dent ;  and,  as  he  said,  "  I  had  not  firmness  enough 
to  resist  the  unanimous  desire  of  my  country  folks ; 
and  I  find  myself  harnessed  again  in  their  ser- 
vice for  another  year.     They  engrossed  the  prime 


404  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

of  my  life.  They  have  eaten  my  flesh,  and  seem 
resolved  now  to  pick  my  bones."  A  visible  and 
a  natural  pleasure  lurks  in  the  words;  old  age 
finds  nothing  sweeter  than  a  tribute  to  the  fresh- 
ness of  its  powers;  and  especially  Franklin  saw 
in  this  honor  a  vindication  against  his  maligners. 
From  it  he  understood  that,  however  some  individ- 
uals might  indulge  in  dislike  and  distrust,  the 
overwhelming  mass  of  his  fellow  citizens  esteemed 
him  as  highly  as  he  could  wish.  The  distinction, 
however,  cost  posterity  an  unwelcome  price,  for 
it  prevented  further  work  on  the  autobiography, 
which  otherwise  would  probably  have  been  fin- 
ished.1 

He  came  into  office  as  a  peacemaker  amid  war- 
ring factions,  and  in  the  fulfillment  of  his  func- 
tions gave  such  satisfaction  that  in  1786  he  was 
unanimously  reelected;  and  the  like  high  compli- 
ment was  paid  him  again  in  the  autumn  of  1787. 
It  was  like  Washington  and  the  presidency:  so 
long  as  he  would  consent  to  accept  the  office,  no 
other  candidate  was  thought  of.  He  also  took 
substantially  the  same  course  which  had  been 
taken  by  Washington  as  commander-in-chief  con- 
cerning his  pay ;  for  he  devoted  his  whole  salary 
to  public  uses.  He  had  the  good  fortune  to  be 
able  to  carry  out  his  somewhat  romantic,  and  for 
most  persons  impracticable,  theory  in  this  respect, 
because  his  private  affairs  were  prospering.  His 
investments   in   real   estate   in   Philadelphia   had 

1  Franklin's  Works,  ix.  459. 


AT  HOME  405 

risen  greatly  in  value  and  in  their  income-produ- 
cing capacity  since  the  war,  and  he  was  now  at 
least  comfortably  endowed  with  worldly  goods. 

He  still  continued  to  ply  his  pen,  and  the  just 
but  annoying  complaints  which  came  from  Great 
Britain,  that  English  creditors  could  not  collect 
their  ante-bellum  debts  from  their  American  debt- 
ors, stimulated  him  to  a  bit  of  humor  at  which 
his  own  countrymen  at  least  were  sure  to  laugh, 
however  little  droll  it  might  seem  to  Englishmen, 
who  reasonably  preferred  good  dollars  to  good 
jokes.  "We  may  all  remember  the  time,"  he 
wrote,  "when  our  mother  country,  as  a  mark  of 
her  parental  tenderness,  emptied  her  gaols  into 
our  habitations,  'for  the  better  peopling,'  as  she 
expressed  it,  4  of  the  colonies.''  It  is  certain  that 
no  due  returns  have  yet  been  made  for  these 
valuable  consignments.  We  are  therefore  much 
in  her  debt  on  that  account;  and  as  she  is  of  late 
clamorous  for  the  payment  of  all  we  owe  her, 
and  some  of  our  debts  are  of  a  kind  not  so  easily 
discharged,  I  am  for  doing,  however,  what  is  in 
our  power.  It  will  show  our  good  will  as  to  the 
rest.  The  felons  she  planted  among  us  have  pro- 
duced such  an  amazing  increase  that  we  are  now 
enabled  to  make  ample  remittance  in  the  same 
commodity,"  etc.,  etc. 

Nevertheless  these  English  assaults  nettled  him 
not  a  little;  and  further  he  dreaded  their  possi- 
ble influence  in  the  rest  of  Europe  outside  of 
England.     The  English  newspapers  teemed  with 


406  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

accounts  of  the  general  demoralization  and  disin- 
tegration of  the  States ;  it  was  said  that  they  had 
found  their  ruin  in  their  independence,  and  the 
unwillingness  of  American  merchants  to  pay  their 
debts  was  in  one  paragraph  attributed  to  their 
dishonesty,  and  in  the  next  to  the  hopeless  poverty 
which  was  described  as  having  possession  of  the 
country.  It  was  in  good  truth  what  Mr.  John 
Fiske  has  called  it,  "The  Critical  Period  of 
American  History."  But  Franklin  was  at  once 
too  patriotic  and  too  sanguine  to  admit  that  mat- 
ters were  so  bad  as  they  seemed.  His  insight  into 
the  situation  proved  correct,  and  the  outcome  very 
soon  showed  that  the  elements  of  prosperity  which 
he  saw  were  substantial,  and  not  merely  the  phan- 
toms of  a  hopeful  lover  of  his  country.  During 
these  years  of  humiliation  and  discouragement  he 
was  busy  in  writing  to  many  friends  in  England 
and  in  France  very  manly  and  spirited  letters, 
declaring  the  condition  of  things  in  the  States 
to  be  by  no  means  so  ill  as  it  was  represented. 
Industry  had  revived,  values  were  advancing,  the 
country  was  growing,  welfare  and  success  were 
within  the  grasp  of  the  people.  These  things  he 
said  repeatedly  and  emphatically,  and  in  a  short 
time  the  accuracy  of  his  knowledge  had  to  be 
admitted  by  all,  whether  friends  or  enemies.  He 
would  not  even  admit  that  the  failure  to  arrange 
a  treaty  of  commerce  with  England  was  the  seri- 
ous misfortune  which  most  Americans  conceived 
it  to  be.     In  his  usual  gallant  fashion  of  facing 


AT  HOME  407 

down  untoward  circumstances  he  alleged  again 
and  again  that  the  lack  of  such  a  treaty  was  worse 
for  Great  Britain  than  for  the  States.  If  British 
merchants  could  stand  it,  American  merchants, 
he  avowed,  could  stand  it  much  better.  He  was 
for  showing  no  more  concern  about  it.  "Let  the 
merchants  on  both  sides  treat  with  one  another. 
Laissez  lesfaire"  he  said.  The  presence  of  such 
a  temper  in  the  States,  in  so  prominent  a  man, 
was  of  infinite  service  in  those  troubled  years  of 
unsettled,  novel,  and  difficult  conditions. 

Dr.  Franklin  was  not  at  first  elected  a  member 
of  the  deputation  from  Pennsylvania  to  the  con- 
vention which  framed  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  But  in  May,  1787,  he  was  added 
in  order  that,  in  the  possible  absence  of  General 
Washington,  there  might  be  some  one  whom  all 
could  agree  in  calling  to  the  chair.1  It  was  fortu- 
nate that  even  an  unnecessary  reason  led  to  his 
being  chosen,  for  all  future  generations  would 
have  felt  that  an  unpardonable  void  had  been 
left  in  that  famous  assemblage,  had  the  sage  of 
America  not  been  there.  Certainly  the  "fitness 
of  things,"  the  historical  picturesqueness  of  the 
event,  imperatively  demanded  Dr.  Franklin's 
venerable  figure  in  the  constitutional  convention 
of  the  United  States  of  America. 

As  between  the  two  theories  of  government 
which  divided  that  body,  Franklin  ranged  himself 
with  the  party  opposed  to  a  strong  and  centralized 

1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  ii.  565. 


408  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

government  endowed  with  many  functions  and 
much  power.1  The  simplest  government  seemed 
to  him  the  best;  and  he  substantially  gave  in  his 
allegiance  to  those  democratic  ideas  which  after- 
ward constituted  the  doctrines  of  the  Jeffersonian 
school  in  American  politics.  It  was  natural  that 
he  should  do  so;  he  was  a  cheerful  optimist  all 
his  life  long,  and  few  men  have  ever  so  trusted 
human  kind  as  he  did;  so  now  he  believed  that 
the  people  could  take  care  of  themselves,  as  in- 
deed the  history  of  the  past  few  years  and  the 
character  of  the  population  of  the  States  at  that 
time  indicated  that  they  could.  He  attended 
regularly  all  the  sessions,  and  gave  his  opinions 
freely;  but  they  are  only  dimly  revealed  in  the 
half-light  which  enfolds  in  such  lamentable  obscu- 
rity the  debates  of  that  interesting  body.  What 
little  is  known  can  be  briefly  stated. 

The  same  theory  which  he  was  practicing  con- 
cerning his  own  salary  he  wished  to  see  introduced 
as  an  article  of  the  Constitution.  The  President, 
he  thought,  should  receive  no  salary.  Honor  was 
enough  reward;  a  place  which  gave  both  honor 
and  profit  offered  too  corrupting  a  temptation, 
and  instead  of  remaining  a  source  of  generous 
aspiration  to  "the  wise  and  moderate,  the  lovers 
of  peace  and  good  order,  the  men  fittest  for  the 
trust,"  it  would  be  scrambled  for  by  "the  bold 

1  But  later  lie  remarked  :  "  Though  there  is  a  general  dread  of 
giving  too  much  power  to  our  governors,  I  think  we  are  more  in 
danger  from  too  little  obedience  in  the  yoverned." 


AT  HOME  409 

and  the  violent,  the  men  of  strong  passions  and 
indefatigable  activity  in  their  selfish  pursuits."1 
In  our  day  such  a  notion  and  such  arguments 
would  be  quickly  sneered  out  of  the  debate;  but 
they  were  in  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  that  era 
when  the  first  generation  which  for  ages  had  dared 
to  contemplate  popular  government  was  carried 
away  by  the  earliest  romantic  fervor  of  inexpe- 
rienced speculation. 

It  is  familiar  that  the  gravest  question  which 
perplexed  the  convention  was  whether  the  larger 
and  the  smaller  States  should  stand  upon  terms 
of  equality,  or  whether  some  proportion  should  be 
established.  After  a  discussion,  recurred  to  at 
intervals  during  many  weeks,  had  failed  to  de- 
velop any  satisfactory  solution  of  this  problem, 
pregnant  with  failure,  Franklin  moved  that  the 
daily  proceedings  should  be  opened  with  prayer.2 
But  Hamilton  said  that  a  resort  to  prayer  would 
indicate  to  the  people  that  the  convention  had 
reached  a  desperate  pass ;  and  either  this  or  some 
other  reason  was  so  potent  that  scarcely  any  one 
voted  yea  on  the  motion.  What  could  be  more 
singular  than  to  see  the  skeptical  Franklin  and 
the  religious  Hamilton  thus  opposed  upon  this 
question !  Franklin  next  suggested  a  compromise : 
an  equal  number  of  delegates  for  all  States;  an 
equal  vote  for  all  States  upon  all  questions  respect- 

1  Franklin's   Works,  ix.  418.     See  also  letter  to  Bishop  of  St. 
Asaph,  Ibid.  viii.  270. 

2  Franklin's  Works,  ix.  428. 


410  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

ing  the  authority  or  sovereignty  of  a  State,  and 
upon  appointments  and  confirmations;  but  votes 
to  be  apportioned  according  to  the  populations  of 
the  States  respectively  upon  all  bills  for  raising 
and  spending  money.  He  was  in  favor  of  a  single 
legislative  chamber,  and  his  plan  was  designed 
to  be  applied  to  such  a  system.  Its  feasibility 
would  probably  have  been  defeated  through  the 
inevitable  complexity  which  would  have  attended 
upon  it  in  practice.1  Nevertheless  it  was  a  sug- 
gestion in  the  right  direction,  and  contained  the 
kernel  of  that  compromise  which  later  on  he  de- 
veloped into  the  system  of  an  equal  representation 
in  the  Senate,  and  a  proportionate  one  in  the 
House.  This  happy  scheme  may  be  fairly  said 
to  have  saved  the  Union. 

Upon  the  matter  of  suffrage  Franklin  voted 
against  limiting  it  to  freeholders,  because  to  do 
so  would  be  to  "depress  the  virtue  and  public 
spirit  of  our  common  people,"  for  whose  patriot- 
ism and  good  sense  he  expressed  high  esteem. 
He  opposed  the  requirement  of  a  residence  of 
fourteen  years  as  a  preliminary  to  naturaliza- 
tion, thinking  four  years  a  sufficient  period.  He 
thought  that  the  President  should  hold  office  for 
seven  years,  and  should  not  be  eligible  for  a  sec- 
ond term;  he  should  be  subject  to  impeachment, 
since  otherwise  in  case  of  wrongdoing  recourse 
could  be  had  only  to  revolution  or  assassination ; 

1  One  becomes  quite  convinced  of  this  upon  reading  his  presen- 
tation of  his  scheme.     Works,  ix.  423  ;  see  also  Ibid.  395. 


AT  HOME  411 

he  should  not  have  the  power  of  an  absolute 
veto. 

When  at  last  the  long  discussions  were  over 
and  the  final  draft  was  prepared,  Franklin  found 
himself  in  the  position  in  which  also  were  most 
of  his  associates,  disapproving  certain  parts,  but 
thinking  adoption  of  the  whole  far  better  than 
rejection.  He  was  wise  enough  and  singular 
enough  to  admit  that  he  was  not  infallibly  right. 
"Nothing  in  human  affairs  and  schemes  is  per- 
fect," he  said,  "and  perhaps  that  is  the  case  of 
our  opinions."  He  made  an  excellent  speech,1 
urging  that  at  the  close  of  their  deliberations  all 
should  harmonize,  sink  their  small  differences  of 
opinion,  and  send  the  document  before  the  people 
with  the  prestige  of  their  unanimous  approbation. 
While  the  last  members  were  signing,  relates 
Madison,  "Dr.  Franklin,  looking  toward  the 
president's  chair,  at  the  back  of  which  a  rising 
sun  happened  to  be  painted,  observed  to  a  few 
members  near  him  that  painters  had  found  it 
difficult  to  distinguish  in  their  art  a  rising  from 
a  setting  sun.  'I  have,'  he  said,  'often  and  often 
in  the  course  of  the  session,  and  the  vicissitudes 
of  my  hopes  and  fears  as  to  its  issue,  looked  at 
that  behind  the  president  without  being  able  to 
tell  whether  it  was  rising  or  setting ;  but  now  at 
length  I  have  the  happiness  to  know  that  it  is  a 
rising  and  not  a  setting  sun.'  " 

He  did  what  he  could  to  secure  the  adoption  of 

1  Franklin's  Works,  ix.  431. 


412  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

the  instrument  by  the  people ;  and  when  that  end 
was  happily  achieved  he  joined  his  voice  to  the 
unanimous  cry  with  which  the  American  nation 
nominated  George  Washington  as  the  only  possi- 
ble candidate  for  the  presidency.  He  said :  "  Gen- 
eral Washington  is  the  man  whom  all  our  eyes 
are  fixed  on  for  President,  and  what  little  influ- 
ence I  may  have  is  devoted  to  him." 

It  was  about  the  time  of  the  election  that  he 
himself  took  his  farewell  of  public  life.  The  third 
year  of  his  incumbency  in  the  office  of  president 
of  Pennsylvania  expired  in  the  autumn  of  1788, 
and  his  physical  condition  precluded  all  idea  of 
further  official  labors.  Nature  could  not  have 
committed  such  an  incongruity,  such  a  sin  against 
aesthetic  justice,  as  not  to  preserve  Benjamin 
Franklin's  life  long  enough  to  enable  him  to  see 
the  United  States  fairly  launched  as  a  real  na- 
tion, with  an  established  government  and  a  sound 
constitution  giving  promise  of  a  vigorous  career. 
But  evidently  with  this  boon  the  patience  of  na- 
ture was  exhausted;  for  Franklin's  infirmities  now 
increased  upon  him  terribly.  He  endured  extreme 
pain  during  periods  steadily  increasing  in  length 
and  recurring  at  ever-shortening  intervals.  He 
bore  his  suffering,  which  too  often  became  agony, 
with  heroic  fortitude ;  but  it  was  evident  that  even 
his  strong  frame  could  not  long  hold  out  against 
the  debilitating  effects  of  his  merciless  disease. 
Yet  while  it  racked  his  body  it  fortunately  spared 
his  mental  faculties ;  and  indeed  so  lively  did  his 


AT  HOME  413 

interest  in  affairs  remain  that  it  seemed  to  require 
these  physical  reminders  to  show  him  how  old 
he  was;  save  for  his  body,  he  was  still  a  man  in 
his  prime.  He  once  said:  "I  often  hear  persons, 
whom  I  knew  when  children,  called  old  Mr.  Such- 
a-one,  to  distinguish  them  from  their  sons,  now 
men  grown  and  in  business;  so  that  by  living 
twelve  years  beyond  David's  period,  /  seem  to 
have  intruded  myself  into  the  company  of  poster- 
ity, when  I  ought  to  have  been  abed  and  asleep" 
—  words  which  should  take  their  place  among 
the  fine  sayings  of  the  ages. 

He  was  courageous  and  cheerful.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1788,  he  wrote:  "You  kindly  inquire  after 
my  health.  I  have  not  of  late  much  reason  to 
boast  of  it.  People  that  will  live  a  long  life  and 
drink  to  the  bottom  of  the  cup  must  expect  to 
meet  with  some  of  the  dregs.  However,  when  I 
consider  how  many  more  terrible  maladies  the 
human  body  is  liable  to,  I  think  myself  well  off 
that  I  have  only  three  incurable  ones:  the  gout, 
the  stone,  and  old  age;  and,  those  notwithstand- 
ing, I  enjoy  many  comfortable  intervals,  in  which 
I  forget  all  my  ills,  and  amuse  myself  in  reading 
or  writing,  or  in  conversation  with  friends,  joking, 
laughing,  and  telling  merry  stories,  as  when  you 
first  knew  me,  a  young  man  about  fifty."1  He 
does  not  seem  to  have  taken  undue  credit  to 
himself;  there  is  no  querulousness,  or  egotism,  or 

1  He  habitually  wrote  in  this  vein ;  see,  for  example,  Works. 
ix.  266,  283,  and  passim. 


414  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

senility  in  his  letters,  but  a  delightful  tranquillity 
of  spirit.  His  sister  wrote  to  him  that  the  Boston 
newspapers  often  had  matter  in  his  honor.  "I 
am  obliged  to  them,"  he  wrote;  "on  the  other 
hand,  some  of  our  papers  here  are  endeavoring 
to  disgrace  me.  I  take  no  notice.  My  friends 
defend  me.  I  have  long  been  accustomed  to  re- 
ceive more  blame,  as  well  as  more  praise,  than  I 
have  deserved.  It  is  the  lot  of  every  public  man, 
and  I  leave  one  account  to  balance  the  other." 
So  serene  was  the  aged  philosopher,  a  real  philoso- 
pher, not  one  who,  having  played  a  part  in  life, 
was  to  be  betrayed  in  the  weakness  and  irrita- 
bility of  old  age.  He  felt  none  of  the  mental 
weariness  which  years  so  often  bring.  He  was 
by  no  means  tired  of  life  and  affairs  in  this  world, 
yet  he  wrote  in  a  characteristic  vein  to  the  Bishop 
of  St.  Asaph:  "The  course  of  nature  must  soon 
put  a  period  to  my  present  mode  of  existence. 
This  I  shall  submit  to  with  the  less  regret,  as, 
having  seen  during  a  long  life  a  good  deal  of  this 
world,  I  feel  a  growing  curiosity  to  be  acquainted 
with  some  other."  It  was  characteristic  that  in 
these  closing  days  it  was  the  progress  of  mankind 
in  knowledge  and  welfare  which  especially  ab- 
sorbed his  thoughts.  When  he  reflected  on  the 
great  strides  that  were  making  he  said  that  he 
almost  wished  that  it  had  been  his  destiny  to  be 
born  two  or  three  centuries  later.  He  was  one 
of  the  few  men  who  has  left  on  record  his  willing- 
ness to  live  his  life  over  again,  even  though  he 


AT  HOME  415 

should  not  be  allowed  the  privilege  of  "correcting 
in  the  second  edition  the  errors  of  the  first." 

The  French  Revolution  excited  his  profoundest 
interest.  At  first  he  said  that  he  saw  "nothing 
singular  in  all  this,  but  on  the  contrary  what 
might  naturally  be  expected.  The  French  have 
served  an  apprenticeship  to  liberty  in  this  coun- 
try, and  now  that  they  are  out  of  their  time  they 
have  set  up  for  themselves."1  He  expressed  his 
hope  that  "the  fire  of  liberty,  .  .  .  spreading 
itself  over  Europe,  would  act  upon  the  inestimable 
rights  of  man  as  common  fire  does  upon  gold : 
purify  without  destroying  them;  so  that  a  lover 
of  liberty  may  find  a  country  in  any  part  of  Chris- 
tendom." The  language  had  an  unusual  smack 
of  the  French  revolutionary  slang,  in  which  he 
seems  in  no  other  instance  to  have  indulged.  But 
as  the  fury  swelled,  his  earlier  sympathies  became 
merged  in  a  painful  anxiety  concerning  the  fate 
of  his  many  good  old  friends. 

Franklin's  last  act  was  a  memorial  addressed 
to  Congress,  signed  by  him  in  his  capacity  as 
president  of  the  abolition  society,  and  praying 
that  body:  "That  you  will  devise  means  for  re- 
moving this  inconsistency  from  the  character  of 
the  American  people ;  that  you  will  promote  mercy 
and  justice  towards  this  distressed  race ;  and  that 
you  will  step  to  the  very  verge  of  the  power  vested 
in  you  for  discouraging  every  species  of  traffic 
in  the  persons  of  our  fellow  men."     He  had  al- 

1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  ii.  600. 


416  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

ways  spoken  of  slavery  with  the  strongest  condem- 
nation, and  branded  the  slave-trade  as  "abomi- 
nable," a  "diabolical  commerce,"  and  a  "crime." 

A  large  part  of  the  last  year  or  two  of  his  life 
was  passed  by  Franklin  in  his  bed.  At  times  when 
his  dreadful  suffering  seemed  to  become  intoler- 
able, it  was  quelled,  so  far  as  possible,  by  opium. 
But  at  intervals  it  left  him,  and  still  whenever 
he  thus  got  a  respite  for  a  few  days  he  was  again 
at  work.  It  was  in  such  an  interval  that  he  wrote 
his  paper  condemning  the  liberty,  which  was  be- 
coming the  license,  of  the  press.  If  the  law  per- 
mitted this  sort  of  thing,  he  said,  then  it  should 
restore  also  the  liberty  of  the  cudgel.  The  paper 
is  not  altogether  antiquated,  nor  the  idea  alto- 
gether bad ! 

It  was  even  so  late  as  March  23,  1790,  that  he 
wrote  the  humorous  rejoinder  to  the  pro-slavery 
speech  delivered  in  Congress  by  Jackson  of  Geor- 
gia. But  the  end  was  close  at  hand;  and  when 
this  brilliant  satire  was  composed,  there  lacked 
but  a  few  days  of  the  allotted  term  when  that 
rare  humor  was  to  be  stilled  forever,  and  that 
broad  philanthropy  was  to  cease  from  the  toil  in 
which  it  had  never  tired  alike  for  the  free  and  the 
oppressed. 

On  April  12,  1790,  a  pain  in  the  chest  and 
difficulty  of  breathing,  which  had  been  giving  him 
much  trouble,  ceased  for  a  short  while,  and  he 
insisted  upon  getting  up  in  order  to  have  his  bed 
re-made:  for  he  wished  to  "die  in  a  decent  man- 


AT   HOME  417 

ner."  His  daughter  expressed  the  conventional 
wish  that  he  might  yet  recover  and  live  many- 
years.  "I  hope  not,"  he  replied.  Soon  after- 
ward the  pain  returned,  and  he  was  advised  to 
change  his  position,  so  that  he  could  breathe  more 
easily.  "A  dying  man  can  do  nothing  easy," 
he  said;  and  these  are  the  last  words  which  he 
is  known  to  have  uttered.  Soon  afterward  he 
sank  into  a  lethargy,  and  so  remained  until  at 
eleven  o'clock,  p.  m.,  on  April  17,  1790,  he  died. 
A  great  procession  and  a  concourse  of  citizens 
escorted  his  funeral,  and  Congress  voted  to  "wear 
the  customary  badge  of  mourning  for  one  month." 
The  bits  of  crape  were  all  very  well,  a  conven- 
tional, insignificant  tribute;  but  unfortunately  the 
account  of  the  country,  or  at  least  of  Congress 
as  representing  the  country,  did  not  stand  very 
honorably,  to  say  nothing  of  generously,  with 
one  of  its  oldest,  most  faithful,  and  most  useful 
servants.1  Again  and  again  Franklin  had  asked 
for  some  modest  office,  some  slight  opening,  for 
his  grandson,  Temple  Franklin.  The  young  man's 
plans  and  prospects  in  life  had  all  been  sacrificed 
to  the  service  of  Franklin  as  his  secretary,  which 
was  in  fact  the  service  of  the  country ;  yet  he  had 
never  been  able  to  collect  even  the  ordinary  salary 
pertaining  to  such  a  position.     Throughout  a  long 

1  One  of  the  most  painful  letters  to  read  which  our  annals  con- 
tain is  that  written  by  Franklin  to  Charles  Thomson,  secretary  of 
Congress,  November  29,  1788,  Works,  viii.  26,  30.  It  is  an  ar- 
raignment which  humiliates  the  descendants  of  the  members  of 
that  body. 


418  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

life  of  public  service,  often  costly  to  himself  in 
his  own  affairs,  Franklin  had  never  asked  any 
other  favor  than  this,  which  after  all  was  rather 
compensation  than  favor,  and  this  was  never  given 
to  him.  When  one  reflects  how  such  offices  are 
demanded  and  awarded  in  these  days,  one  hardly 
knows  whether  to  be  more  ashamed  of  the  present 
or  of  the  past.  But  this  was  not  all  nor  even 
the  worst;  for  Franklin's  repeated  efforts  to  get 
his  own  accounts  with  the  government  audited  and 
settled  never  met  with  any  response.  It  needed 
only  that  Congress  should  appoint  a  competent 
accountant  to  examine  and  report.  Before  leav- 
ing France  Franklin  had  begged  for  this  act  of 
simple,  business-like  justice,  which  it  was  the 
duty  of  Congress  to  initiate  without  solicitation; 
he  had  the  fate  of  the  "poor  unhappy  Deane " 
before  his  eyes,  to  make  him  uncomfortable,  but 
in  this  respect  he  was  treated  no  better  than  that 
misused  man.  After  his  return  home  he  contin- 
ued his  urgency  during  his  last  years,  not  wishing 
to  die  leaving  malignant  enemies  behind  him,  and 
accounts  open  which  he  could  no  longer  explain 
and  elucidate.  Indeed,  stories  were  already  cir- 
culating that  he  was  "greatly  indebted  to  the 
United  States  for  large  sums  that  had  been  put 
into  [his]  hands,  and  that  [he]  avoided  a  settle- 
ment; "  yet  this  request  was  still,  with  unpardon- 
able disregard  of  decency  and  duty,  utterly  ig- 
nored. He  never  could  get  the  business  attended 
to,    and    Benjamin    Franklin    actually   could   not 


AT   HOME  419 

extort  from  an  indifferent  Congress  the  small 
satisfaction  of  having  his  accounts  passed.  The 
consequence  was  that  when  he  died  the  United 
States  appeared  his  debtor,  and  never  extricated 
itself  from  that  painful  position.1  It  was  only 
in  this  matter  that  he  ever  showed  the  slightest 
anxiety  concerning  his  reputation  with  posterity. 
He  wanted  to  leave  the  name  of  an  honest  man ; 
but  otherwise  he  never  was  at  the  trouble  of  pre- 
paring a  line  to  justify  any  of  his  actions,  therein 
differing  from  many  of  his  contemporaries. 

France  showed  a  livelier  affection  and  warmer 
appreciation  toward  the  great  dead  than  did  his 
own  countrymen.  At  the  opening  of  the  National 
Assembly,  June  11,  1790,  Mirabeau  delivered 
an  impassioned  eulogy  in  the  rhetorical  French 
fashion;  and  the  motion  to  wear  mourning  for 
three  days  was  carried  by  acclamation.  The 
president  of  that  body,  M.  Sieyes,  was  instructed 
to  communicate  the  resolution  to  Washington. 
At  the  celebration  of  the  municipality  of  Paris 
the  citizens  generally  wore  a  mourning  badge; 
and  the  grain  market,  where  the  oration  was  de- 
livered, was  draped  in  black.  The  Academy  of 
Sciences  of  course  did  formal  honor  to  his  mem- 
ory, as  did  likewise  the  revolutionary  clubs.  A 
street  at  what  was  in  his  day  Passy,  but  is  now 
included  in  Paris,  near  the  Trocadero,  perpetuates 
by  his  name  the  admiration  which  France  felt  for 
him. 

1  Parton's  Life  of  Franklin,  ii.  596. 


420  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

Among  illustrious  Americans  Franklin  stands 
preeminent  in  the  interest  which  is  aroused  by  a 
study  of  his  character,  his  mind,  and  his  career. 
One  becomes  attached  to  him,  bids  him  farewell 
with  regret,  and  feels  that  for  such  as  he  the  long- 
est span  of  life  is  all  too  short.  Even  though  dead, 
he  attracts  a  personal  regard  which  renders  easily 
intelligible  the  profound  affection  which  so  many 
men  felt  for  him  while  living.  It  may  be  doubted 
whether  any  one  man  ever  had  so  many,  such  con- 
stant, and  such  firm  friends  as  in  three  different 
nations  formed  about  him  a  veritable  host.  In 
the  States  and  in  France  he  was  loved,  and  as  he 
grew  into  old  age  he  was  revered,  not  by  those 
who  heard  of  him  only,  but  most  warmly  by  those 
who  best  knew  him.  Even  in  England,  where 
for  years  he  was  the  arch-rebel  of  all  America, 
he  was  generally  held  in  respect  and  esteem,  and 
had  many  constant  friends  whose  confidence  no 
events  could  shake.  It  is  true,  of  course,  that  he 
had  also  his  detractors,  with  most  of  whom  the 
reader  has  already  made  acquaintance.  In  Penn- 
sylvania the  proprietary  party  cherished  an  ani- 
mosity which  still  survives  against  his  memory, 
but  which  does  not  extend  far  beyond  those  who 
take  it  as  an  inheritance.  It  does  him  no  dis- 
credit with  persons  who  understand  its  source. 
In  New  England  a  loyalty  to  those  famous  New 
Englanders,  John  Adams  and  Samuel  Adams, 
seems  to  involve  in  the  minds  of  some  persons 
a  depreciation  of  Franklin.      In  English  historical 


AT  HOME  421 

literature  the  patriotic  instinct  stands  in  the  way 
of  giving  Franklin  quite  his  full  due  of  praise. 
But  the  faults  and  defects  of  character  and  con- 
duct which  are  urged  against  him  appear  little 
more  than  the  expression  of  personal  ill  will, 
when  they  are  compared  with  the  affection  and 
the  admiration  given  to  him  in  liberal  measure 
by  the  great  mass  of  mankind  both  in  the  genera- 
tions which  knew  him  as  a  living  contemporary 
and  in  those  which  hear  of  him  only  as  one  of  the 
figures  of  history.  It  is  not  worth  while  to  deify 
him,  or  to  speak  with  extravagant  reverence,  as 
if  he  had  neither  faults  nor  limitations.  Yet  it 
seems  ungracious  to  recall  these  concerning  one 
who  did  for  his  fellow  men  so  much  as  Franklin 
did.  Moral,  intellectual,  and  material  boons  he 
conferred  in  such  abundance  that  few  such  bene- 
factors of  the  race  can  be  named,  though  one 
should  survey  all  the  ages.  A  man  of  a  greater 
humanity  never  lived;  and  the  quality  which  stood 
Abou  Ben  Adhem  in  good  stead  should  suffice  to 
save  Franklin  from  human  criticism.  He  not 
only  loved  his  kind,  but  he  also  trusted  them  with 
an  implicit  confidence,  reassuring  if  not  extraor- 
dinary in  an  observer  of  his  shrewdness  and  ex- 
perience. Democrats  of  the  revolutionary  school 
in  France  and  of  the  Jeffersonian  school  in  the 
United  States  have  preached  an  exaggerated  gos- 
pel of  the  people,  but  their  words  are  the  dubious 
ones  of  fanatics  or  politicians.  Franklin  was  of 
a  different  kind,   and  had  a  more   genuine   and 


422  BENJAMIN   FRANKLIN 

more   generous   faith   in   man   than   the  greatest 
democrat  in  politics  who  ever  lived. 

Franklin's  inborn  ambition  was  the  noblest  of 
all  ambitions :  to  be  of  practical  use  to  the  multi- 
tude of  men.  The  chief  motive  of  his  life  was  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  mankind.  Every  moment 
which  he  could  snatch  from  enforced  occupations 
was  devoted  to  doing,  devising,  or  suggesting  some- 
thing advantageous  more  or  less  generally  to  men. 
His  detractors  have  given  a  bad,  but  also  a  false 
coloring  to  this  trait.  They  say  that  the  spirit 
of  all  that  he  did  and  taught  was  sordid,  that 
the  motives  and  purposes  which  he  set  before  men 
were  selfish,  that  his  messages  spoken  through 
the  mouth  of  Poor  Richard  inculcated  no  higher 
objects  in  life  than  money -getting.  This  is  an 
utterly  unfair  form  of  stating  the  case.  Franklin 
was  a  great  moralist:  though  he  did  not  believe 
in  the  Christian  religion  according  to  the  strait- 
laced  orthodox  view,  he  believed  in  the  virtues 
which  that  religion  embodies;  and  he  was  not 
only  often  a  zealous  preacher,  but  in  the  main 
a  consistent  exemplar  of  them.  Perhaps  he  did 
not  rest  them  upon  precisely  the  same  basis  upon 
which  the  Christian  preacher  does,  but  at  least 
he  put  them  on  a  basis  upon  which  they  could 
stand  firm.  In  such  matters,  however,  one  may 
easily  make  mistakes,  breed  ill  blood,  and  do 
harm;  and  his  wisdom  and  good  sense  soon  led 
him  to  put  forth  his  chief  efforts  and  to  display 
especial  earnestness  and  constancy  in  promoting 


AT  HOME  423 

the  well-being  of  all  men.  It  was  an  object  suffi- 
ciently noble,  one  would  think,  worthy  of  the 
greatest  brain  and  the  largest  heart,  and  having 
certain  very  commendable  traits  in  the  way  of 
practicability  and  substantial  possibilities.  His 
desire  was  to  see  the  community  prosperous,  com- 
fortable, happy,  advancing  in  the  accumulation 
of  money  and  of  all  physical  goods,  but  not  to 
the  point  of  luxury ;  it  was  by  no  means  the  pile 
of  dollars  which  was  his  end,  and  he  did  not  care 
to  see  many  men  rich,  but  rather  to  see  all  men 
well  to  do.  He  was  perfectly  right  in  thinking 
that  virtuous  living  has  the  best  prospects  in  a 
well-to-do  society.  He  gave  liberally  of  his  own 
means  and  induced  others  to  give,  and  promoted 
in  proportion  to  the  ability  of  the  community  a 
surprising  number  of  public  and  quasi  public 
enterprises;  and  always  the  fireside  of  the  poor 
man  was  as  much  in  his  thought  as  the  benefit 
of  the  richer  circle.  Fair  dealing  and  kindliness, 
prudence  and  economy  in  order  to  procure  the 
comforts  and  simpler  luxuries  of  life,  reading  and 
knowledge  for  those  uses  which  wisdom  subserves, 
constituted  the  real  essence  of  his  teaching.  His 
inventive  genius  was  ever  at  work  devising  meth- 
ods of  making  daily  life  more  agreeable,  comfort- 
able, and  wholesome  for  all  who  have  to  live.  In 
a  word,  the  service  of  his  fellow  men  was  his 
constant  aim;  and  he  so  served  them  that  those 
public  official  functions  which  are  euphemistically 
called  "public  services"  seemed  in  his  case  almost 


424  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN 

an  interruption  of  the  more  direct  and  far-reaching 
services  which  he  was  intent  upon  rendering  to 
all  civilized  peoples.  Extreme  religionists  may 
audaciously  fancy  that  the  judgment  of  God  upon 
Franklin  may  be  severe;  but  it  would  be  gross 
disloyalty  for  his  own  kind  to  charge  that  his  in- 
fluence has  been  ignobly  material. 

As  a  patriot  none  surpassed  him.  Again  it 
was  the  love  of  the  people  that  induced  this  feel- 
ing, which  grew  from  no  theory  as  to  forms  of 
government,  no  abstractions  and  doctrines  about 
"the  rights  of  man."  He  began  by  espousing 
the  cause  of  the  people  of  the  province  of  Penn- 
sylvania against  proprietary  despotism,  and  for 
many  years  he  was  a  patriot  in  his  colony,  before 
the  great  issue  against  England  made  patriotism 
common.  His  patriotism  had  not  root  in  any 
revolutionary  element  in  his  temper,  but  was  the 
inevitable  outcome  of  his  fair-mindedness.  That 
which  was  unfair  as  between  man  and  man  first 
aroused  his  ire  against  the  grinding  proprietaries ; 
and  afterward  it  was  the  unfairness  of  taxation 
without  representation  which  especially  incensed 
him ;  for  an  intellect  of  the  breadth  and  clearness 
of  his  sees  and  loves  justice  above  all  things. 
During  the  struggle  of  the  States  no  man  was 
more  hearty  in  the  cause  than  Franklin;  and  the 
depth  of  feeling  shown  in  his  letters,  simple  and 
unrhetorical  as  they  are,  is  impressive.  All  that 
he  had  he  gave.  What  also  strikes  the  reader 
of  his  writings  is  the  broad  national  spirit  which 


AT  HOME  425 

he  manifested.  He  had  an  immense  respect  for 
the  dignity  of  America;  he  was  perhaps  fortu- 
nately saved  from  disillusionment  by  his  distance 
from  home.  But  be  this  as  it  may,  the  way  in 
which  he  felt  and  therefore  genuinely  talked  about 
his  nation  and  his  country  was  not  without  its 
moral  effect  in  Europe. 

Intellectually  there  are  few  men  who  are  Frank- 
lin's peers  in  all  the  ages  and  nations.  He  cov- 
ered, and  covered  well,  vast  ground.  The  repu- 
tation of  doing  and  knowing  various  unrelated 
things  is  wont  to  bring  suspicion  of  perfunctori- 
ness;  but  the  ideal  of  the  human  intellect  is  an 
understanding  to  which  all  knowledge  and  all 
activity  are  germane.  There  have  been  a  few, 
very  few  minds  which  have  approximated  toward 
this  ideal,  and  among  them  Franklin's  is  promi- 
nent. He  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
scientists  who  have  ever  lived.  Bancroft  calls 
him  "the  greatest  diplomatist  of  his  century."1 
His  ingenious  and  useful  devices  and  inventions 
were  very  numerous.  He  possessed  a  masterly 
shrewdness  in  business  and  practical  affairs.  He 
was  a  profound  thinker  and  preacher  in  morals 
and  on  the  conduct  of  life ;  so  that  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  founders  of  great  religions  it  would 
be  difficult  to  name  any  persons  who  have  more 
extensively  influenced  the  ideas,  motives,  and  hab- 
its of  life  of  men.  He  was  one  of  the  most,  per- 
haps the  most  agreeable  conversationist  of  his  age. 
1  Bancroft,  Hist.  U.  S.  ix.  134. 


426  BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN 

He  was  a  rare  wit  and  humorist,  and  in  an  age 
when  "American  humor  "was  still  unborn,  amid 
contemporaries  who  have  left  no  trace  of  a  jest, 
still  less  of  the  faintest  appreciation  of  humor,  all 
which  he  said  and  wrote  was  brilliant  with  both 
these  most  charming  qualities  of  the  human  mind. 
Though  sometimes  lax  in  points  of  grammar,  as 
was  much  the  custom  in  his  day,  he  wrote  as 
delightful  a  style  as  is  to  be  found  in  all  English 
literature,  and  that  too  when  the  stilted,  verbose, 
and  turgid  habit  was  tediously  prevalent.  He 
was  a  man  who  impressed  his  ability  upon  all 
who  met  him ;  so  that  the  abler  the  man  and  the 
more  experienced  in  judging  men,  the  higher  did 
he  rate  Franklin  when  brought  into  direct  contact 
with  him;  politicians  and  statesmen  of  Europe, 
distrustful  and  sagacious,  trained  readers  and  val- 
uers of  men,  gave  him  the  rare  honor  of  placing 
confidence  not  only  in  his  personal  sincerity,  but 
in  his  broad  fair-mindedness,  a  mental  quite  as 
much  as  a  moral  trait. 

It  is  hard  indeed  to  give  full  expression  to  a 
man  of  such  scope  in  morals,  in  mind,  and  in 
affairs.  He  illustrates  humanity  in  an  astonishing 
multiplicity  of  ways  at  an  infinite  number  of 
points.  He,  more  than  any  other,  seems  to  show 
us  how  many-sided  our  human  nature  is.  No  in- 
dividual, of  course,  fills  the  entire  circle;  but  if 
we  can  imagine  a  circumference  which  shall  ex- 
press humanity,  we  can  place  within  it  no  one 
man  who  will   reach  out  to  approach  it  and  to 


AT  HOME  427 

touch  it  at  so  many  points  as  will  Franklin.  A 
man  of  active  as  well  as  universal  good  will,  of 
perfect  trustfulness  towards  all  dwellers  on  the 
earth,  of  supreme  wisdom  expanding  over  all  the 
interests  of  the  race,  none  has  earned  a  more 
kindly  loyalty.  By  the  instruction  which  he  gave, 
by  his  discoveries,  by  his  inventions,  and  by  his 
achievements  in  public  life  he  earns  the  distinction 
of  having  rendered  to  men  varied  and  useful  ser- 
vices excelled  by  no  other  one  man;  and  thus  he 
has  established  a  claim  upon  the  gratitude  of 
mankind  so  broad  that  history  holds  few  who  can 
be  his  rivals. 


INDEX 


431 


reenter's  cabinet,  147  suggests 
treating  for  peace,  284 ;  moves  ad- 
dress against  the  war,  after  York- 
town,  364. 

Conyngham, ,  American  privateer, 

248,  249. 

44  Cool  Thoughts  on  the  Present  Situa- 
tion," a  pamphlet  by  Franklin,  91. 

Cooper,  Sir  Grey,  thinks  Franklin's 
mission  is  a  desertion,  234. 

Cooper,  Samuel,  tells  Franklin  of  the 
sentiment  in  Massachusetts  regard- 
ing his  appointment  as  agent,  138  ; 
letter  to,  regarding  Hutchinson  let- 
ters, 180. 

"Critical  Period  of  American  His- 
tory" a  time  of  reviving  industrial 
prosperity,  406. 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  effect  of  his  sur- 
render, 363. 

Cumberland,  Duke  of,  forms  cabinet, 
115;  dies,  116. 

Cushing,  Thomas,  letter  from  Frank- 
lin to,  about  the  Hutchinson  letters, 
180. 

Dana,  Francis,  his  reliance  on  Frank- 
lin, 342,  345. 

Dartmouth,  Lord,  suggested  as  Hills- 
borough's successor  by  Franklin, 
165  ;  friendly  relations  with  Frank- 
lin, 166  ;  later  divergence,  166  ;  dis- 
cusses with  Franklin  Massachusetts 
resolves  denying  parliamentary  con- 
trol, 167 ;  impossibility  of  agree- 
ment, 168,  193;  Franklin's  memo- 
rial to,  200. 

Deane,  Silas,  rank  as  diplomate,  220  ; 
first  envoy  to  France,  222  ;  previous 
career  and  character,  222  ;  his  mis- 
takes, 223 ;  abandons  America,  223  ; 
introduced  in  France  by  Franklin, 
223 ;  his  instructions,  224 ;  balked 
by  Bancroft,  224 ;  joins  plans  of 
Beaumarchais,  230  ;  not  interfered 
with  by  Franklin,  238 ;  slandered 
by  Arthur  Lee,  238,  239;  ruined 
by  him,  239;  defended  by  Frank- 
lin, 240,  243,  290  ;  sends  European 
officers  to  America,  242 ;  proposes 
an  ultimatum  to  France,  269 ;  re- 
called, 289  ;  confidence  in  Franklin, 
399. 

De  Grey,  Lord  Chief  Justice,  in 
Hutchinson  letters  affair,  186. 

Denham, ,  offers  Franklin  a  clerk- 
ship, 10  ;  his  death,  10. 

Despencer,  Lord  le,  breakfast  party 
with,  136. 

D'Estaing,  Admiral,  sails  to  aid  Amer- 
ica, 285. 

"  De  Weissenstein  "  makes  mysterious 
offer  of  peace  with  pensions  for 
leading  rebels,  358  ;  supposed  to  be 


George  III.,  358;  Franklin's  reply 
to,  358,  359. 

Dickinson,  John,  defends  the  Penn- 
sylvania proprietors,  94;  personal 
attack  on  Franklin,  97,  98 ;  pro- 
tests against  his  appointment  as 
agent  of  the  Assembly,  98  ;  advo- 
cates renewed  petitioning  to  king 
in  Continental  Congress,  206;  sup- 
ported by  Franklin,  206. 

Digges, -,  embezzles  funds  sent  by 

Franklin  to  American  prisoners, 
264 ;  makes  secret  proposals  on  be- 
half of  Lord  North,  364. 

Diplomacy  of  the  Revolution,  its  gen- 
eral character,  220  ;  varied  person- 
nel, 220 ;  difficulties  in  choosing 
ministers,  221  ;  vagueness  as  to 
status  of  representatives,  222 ;  mis- 
sion of  Silas  Deane  to  France,  222- 
231 ;  assistance  gained  from  France 
through  Beaumarchais,  225-231  ; 
mission  of  Franklin  to  France,  232- 
401 ;  first  offer  of  alliance,  236,  237  ; 
dealings  of  Franklin  and  Deane  with 
foreign  military  adventurers,  242- 
246;  management  of  privateers, 
248-252 ;  negotiations  relative  to 
exchange  of  prisoners,  252-264 ; 
dealings  with  opposition  in  England, 
271 ;  alliance  with  France,  273-279  ; 
proposal  of  Deane  to  force  a  deci- 
sion, 269  ;  effect  of  news  of  Bur- 
goyne's  capture,  273 ;  discussion 
over  terms  of  alliance,  273-277  ;  de- 
bate over  molasses  duties,  276  ;  con- 
cessions arranged  by  Franklin,  277, 
278 ;  peace  with  England  suggested, 
282,  284;  quarrels  in  the  French 
mission,  290-298 ;  Franklin  minis- 
ter plenipotentiary,  298  ;  methods 
of  raising  money  in  Europe,  306  ; 
history  of  Franklin's  efforts  in 
France,  306-336  [see  Finances  of 
the  Revolution]  ;  unique  position  of 
Franklin  in  Europe,  340-343  ;  supe- 
riority to  other  diplomatists,  342, 
344-346  ;  mistake  of  John  Adams  in 
irritating  Vergennes  about  American 
paper  money,  350-352  ;  the  affair 
smoothed  over  by  Franklin,  352- 
355  ;  futile  advances  toward  recon- 
ciliation made  by  English  emissa- 
ries, 357-360  ;  events  leading  up  to 
treaty  of  peace  [see  treaty  of 
peace],  363-396 ;  commercial  trea- 
ties with  Prussia  and  other  countries, 
397. 

Dubourg,  Dr.,  conveys  to  Franklin 
news  of  French  willingness  to  help 
colonies,  232. 

Dunning, ,  counsel    for    Franklin 

in  Hutchinson  letters  affair,  187, 
188. 


432 


INDEX 


Edinburgh  gives  Franklin  freedom  of 

the  city,  75. 
East  India  Company,  hurt  by  colonial 

non-importation,  175. 

Finances  of  the  Revolution,  difficul- 
ties, 304  ;  vague  powers  of  Con- 
gress, 304 ;  inability  to  offer  secur- 
ity, 305  ;  methods  of  raising  money 
adopted,  305,  306 ;  burden  of  mak- 
ing loans  thrown  on  foreign  repre- 
sentatives, 306 ;  situation  of  Jay, 
307 ;  of  Adams,  307 ;  real  brunt 
borne  by  Franklin,  307,  321 :  unpic- 
turesqueness  and  indispensableness 
of  his  labors,  308,  336 ;  description 
of  them,  308-336 ;  proposed  pay- 
ments by  cargoes  of  American  pro- 
ducts, 309 ;  failure  of  this  method, 
310 ;  loans  made  by  French  court 
on  pure  credit,  311,  317, 319  ;  Frank- 
lin's pamphlet  on  resources  of  the 
United  States,  311 ;  neglect  of  Con- 
gress to  advise  ministers  of  bills, 
312,  313,  326,  332;  protests  from 
Franklin,  312,  318,  320;  lack  of 
business  methods  in  Congress,  313, 
314,  320  ;  extravagance  of  Lee  and 
Izard,  314-316;  difficulties  of 
French  court  in  furnishing  money, 
319;  injurious  influence  of  State 
agents,  320 ;  difficulties  of  Jay  in 
Spain,  321,  322,  332  ;  criticisms  of 
Vergenues,  325  ;  neglect  of  Congress 
to  keep  promises,  322,  326,  332; 
begging  from  Vergennes,  327  ;  from 
Necker,  328  ;  difficulties  over  loan 
raised  in  Holland,  328 ;  extravagance 
of  Laurens  and  Jackson,  329 ;  diffi- 
culties of  Adams  in  Holland,  331, 
332  ;  antedating  of  bills  to  elude  a 
promise,  332  ;  further  loans,  334, 
336  ;  liquidation  of  accounts  begins, 
335;  peace  alone  puts  an  end  to 
borrowing,  336. 

Fisheries,  importance  of,  to  New  Eng- 
land, 380;  right  to,  upheld  by 
Adams,  380,  399. 

Fitzherbert, ,  replaces  Grenville, 

372. 

Florida,  suggested  as  member  of  Con- 
federation by  Franklin,  208. 

Folger,  Abiah,  mother  of  Franklin,  2. 

Folger,  ancestry  of  Franklin,  3. 

Fox,  C.  J.,  member  of  opposition, 
271 ;  attacks  North  regarding 
French  and  American  alliance,  281  ; 
in  Rockingham  cabinet,  365 ;  tries 
to  outdo  Shelburne  by  treating  with 
colonies  through  France,  366  ;  will- 
ing to  acknowledge  their  independ- 
ence, 367  ;  urges  Franklin  to  ne- 
gotiate separately,  370  ;  retires  from 
Shelburne' s  cabinet,  372. 


France,  policy  of;  early  interest  in 
English  colonial  controversy,  137  ; 
regarded  as  probable  ally  of  colo- 
nies, 222  ;  intervention  suggested  by 
Beaumarchais  and  Vergennes,  226- 
228 ;  enthusiasm  over  Franklin,  233- 
235;  secret  assistance,  251  ;  self- 
interest  of  France,  252,  285,  368, 
375,  380,  391,  396  ;  treaty  of  alliance 
with,  273-279  ;  war  with  England, 
285  ;  financial  assistance,  307-336. 

Franklin  ancestry,  2 ;  from  North- 
amptonshire, 2 ;  religious  independ- 
dence,  2. 

Franklin,  Benjamin.  Early  years. 
Ancestry,  2  ;  birth,  3 ;  intended  at 
first  for  the  church,  3 ;  assists 
father  as  tallow  chandler,  4 ;  ap- 
prenticed as  printer  to  his  brother, 
4  ;  "  escapes  being  a  poet,"  4  ;  bold 
religious  speculations,  5 ;  runs 
away,  6  ;  begins  printing  in  Phila- 
delphia, 6  ;  receives  offer  of  help 
from  Gov.  Temple,  6 ;  fails  to  in- 
duce his  father  to  assist,  7  ;  tricked 
by  Temple  into  sailing  for  England, 
8  ;  lives  in  London,  8  ;  "  errata  " 
in  his  career,  9  ;  bad  company,  9 ; 
infidelity,  9 ;  declines  proposal  to 
establish  swimming  school,  10  ;  re- 
turns home,  10  ;  composes  epitaph, 
11  ;  rise  as  printer  in  Philadelphia, 
11,  12;  publishes  "Pennsylvania 
Gazette,"  12,  13  ;  matrimonial  pro- 
jects, 13,  14 ;  marriage,  15  ;  rise  in 
society,  19 ;  establishes  a  library, 
20  ;  effective  methods  of  agitation, 
21 ;  publishes  Poor  Richard's  al- 
manac, 21  ;  his  management  of  the 
Gazette,  24 ;  religious  and  moral 
views,  24-33 ;  gains  political  influ- 
ence through  the  Junto,  34  ;  estab- 
lishment of  affiliated  clubs,  34 ; 
studies  languages,  35 ;  clerk  of 
General  Assembly,  35;  postmaster 
of  Philadelphia,  35  ;  invents  a  stove, 
and  refuses  to  patent  it,  36  ;  founds 
a  philosophical  society,  36  ;  an  acad- 
emy, 37  ;  tries  to  reorganize  night- 
watch,  38 ;  founds  the  Union  Fire 
Company,  39  ;  begins  organization 
of  military  force  against  French, 
39 ;  takes  a  partner,  39 ;  enters 
public  life,  40  ;  appointed  to  vari- 
ous offices  and  elected  burgess,  40  ; 
commissioner  to  treat  with  In- 
dians, 40 ;  assists  Dr.  Bond  in 
founding  hospital,  41 ;  induces  legis- 
lature to  make  a  contingent  grant, 
42 ;  his  pride  over  this  device,  42  ; 
improves  cleaning  and  lighting  of 
streets,  42 ;  appointed  head  of 
postal  system,  his  successful  man- 
agement of  it,  43 ;   receives  degree 


INDEX 


433 


of  Master  of  Arts  from  Yale  and 
Harvard,  43 ;  deputy  to  Indian  con- 
ference at  Albany,  44;  proposes  a 
colonial  union,  44 ;  his  plan  adopted, 
45;  later  rejected  by  England  and 
by  colonies,  45 ;  speculations  as  to 
possible  results  if  successful,  4G ; 
opposes  Shirley's  plan  of  a  parlia- 
mentary tax,  47  ;  proclaims  theory 
of  no  taxation  without  consent,  47  ; 
points  out  heaviness  of  existing  in- 
direct taxation,  48 ;  doubts  feasi- 
bility of  colonial  representation  in 
Parliament,  48,  49 ;  visits  Boston, 
49 ;  on  committee  to  supervise  mili- 
tary expenditure  in  Pennsylvania, 
50 ;  disapproves  of  Braddock's  ex- 
pedition, 51 ;  acts  in  behalf  of  the 
Assembly,  52 ;  arranges  for  trans- 
portation for  the  expedition,  53 ; 
obliged  to  give  bonds  to  owners, 
54 ;  in  danger  of  ruin  owing  to  fail- 
ure of  expedition  and  losses  of 
wagons  and  horses,  54 ;  escapes 
with  slight  losses,  54  ;  reputed  to 
have  made  money,  55 ;  builds  forts 
on  frontier,  56  ;  increased  popular- 
ity, 56 ;  scheme  for  settling  barrier 
colonies  west  of  mountains,  57 ; 
scientific  studies,  59 ;  reputation 
in  Europe,  59,  60. 

Representative  of  Pennsylvania  in 
conflict  with  proprietors.  Sent  to  I 
England  by  burgesses  to  appeal  to 
the  king  against  the  proprietors,  63 ; 
his  share  in  previous  agitation,  63  ; 
detained  from  sailing  by  Lord  Lou- 
doun's procrastination,  65  ;  arrival 
in  London,  66  ;  interview  with  Lord 
Granville,  66 ;  dispute  over  legal 
rights  of  the  colonies,  67  ;  futile  in- 
terview with  proprietors,  67 ;  with 
their  counsel,  68  ;  kept  waiting  a 
year,  68 ;  complained  of  to  the  As- 
sembly by  the  proprietors,  68; 
learns  of  an  adverse  report  of  the 
board  of  trade,  70 ;  engages  that 
proprietors  shall  be  fairly  treated  by 
the  Assembly,  70 ;  thus  gains  main 
contention  that  proprietors  may  be 
taxed,  71 ;  comments  on  proprie- 
tors' behavior,  71,  72 ;  detained 
two  years  in  England  on  business, 
73 ;  purposely  delayed  by  oppo- 
nents, 73 :  suffers  from  lack  of  so- 
cial influence,  74 ;  fails  to  see  Pitt, 
74  ;  illness,  74  ;  welcomed  in  scien- 
tific circles,  75 ;  travels,  75 ;  re- 
ceives degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws 
from  St.  Andrews  and  Oxford,  75 ; 
friendship  with  Strahan,  76 ;  at- 
tempts at  match-making  with  Sar  ih 
Franklin  and  William  Franklin,  76  ; 
willing  to  live  in  England,  77  ;  re- 


gret at  leaving,  77  ;  interested  in 
proposal  to  leave  Canada  to  French 
in  order  to  overawe  colonies,  80 ; 
shows  fallacy  in  a  pamphlet,  80,  81 ; 
denies  possibility  of  colonial  inde- 
pendence, 81,  82,  83;  predicts  fu- 
ture development  of  the  West,  84 ; 
returns  home,  84  ;  popularity,  84  ; 
elected  to  assembly,  84  ;  receives 
partial  compensation,  84 ;  desires 
repose,  86 ;  regulates  post-office,  86 ; 
friendly  relations  with  Governor 
Penn,  87;  condemns  "  Pax  ton  mas- 
sacre "  of  friendly  Indians,  88  ;  or- 
ganizes force  to  protect  Christian 
Indians  in  Philadelphia,  89 ;  pro- 
tects governor  in  his  house,  89  ; 
joins  popular  party  in  opposing  gov- 
ernor, 91  ;  urges  change  to  Royal 
Government,  91,  92,  93 ;  draws  peti- 
tion to  this  effect,  93 ;  chosen 
speaker,  94 ;  attacks  governor's 
methods,  94,  95  ;  defeated  in  elec- 
tion to  Assembly,  96,  97  ;  appointed 
agent  to  present  petition  for  Royal 
Government,  97,  99 ;  attacked  by 
Dickinson,  98  ;  expenses  of  journey 
paid  by  subscription,  100  ;  return  to 
old  lodgings  in  London,  100 ;  fails 
to  gain  consideration  for  his  peti- 
tion, 101,  102. 

Colonial  representative  in  Eng- 
land. Instructed  by  Pennsylvania  to 
oppose  Stamp  Act,  105  ;  fruitless  in- 
terview with  Grenville,  106  ;  writes 
home  advising  submission,  107  ;  no 
thought  of  resistance,  107  ;  names 
Hughes  for  stamp-distributer  at 
Grenville  's  request,  108 ;  temporary 
fury  of  Philadelphia  at  the  news, 
109  ;  his  surprise  and  mortification, 
109,  110 ;  apparent  disagreement 
with  colonists,  but  real  unity  of  opin- 
ion, 111  ;  his  fitness  for  diplomatic 
position  in  England,  111,  112;  sym- 
pathizes with  both  sides,  113;  tact 
and  coolness,  113;  appears  as  wit- 
ness at  bar  of  Commons,  119  ;  abil- 
ity displayed  under  cross-examina- 
tion, 119  ;  thorough  mastery  of  sit- 
uation, 120 ;  great  effect  of  his 
testimony,  121  ;  presents  American 
sentiment  against  the  Stamp  Act, 
122  ;  expresses  willingness  to  sacri- 
fice all  rather  than  submit,  123, 
124  ;  states  legislative  independence 
of  colonies,  124,  1 25  ;  has  friendly 
feeling  for  George  III.,  126;  seeks 
to  defend  him,  126,  127  ;  thinks- 
colonial  representation  in  Parlia 
ment  impossible  of  adoption,  128 
views  on  "  virtual  "  representation 
130 ;  draws  distinctions  betweei 
external  and  internal  taxation,  130v 


434 


INDEX 


131  ;  asserts  willingness  of  colonies 
to  bear  their  share  of  public  bur- 
dens, 132  ;  return  of  popularity  in 
Pennsylvania,  134;  satirical  publica- 
tions at  expense  of  English  igno- 
rance of  colonies,  134,  135 ;  joke 
concerning  a  claim  of  the  king  of 
Prussia  to  England,  136 ;  "  rules  for 
reducing  a  great  empire  to  a  small 
one,"  136 ;  communications  with 
the  French,  137  ;  appointed  agent 
for  Georgia  and  Massachusetts, 
138 ;  opposed  by  Samuel  Adams, 
138 ;  increased  prestige,  139 ;  pe- 
cuniary sacrifice,  139  ;  retains  post- 
mastership,  140  ;  motives  of  minis- 
try in  leaving  him  undisturbed,  140  ; 
rumors  circulated  in  America  that 
he  had  accepted  royal  office,  141  ; 
his  reputation  increases  in  England 
and  France,  144  ;  urges  moderation 
at  home,  145 ;  disliked  by  extrem- 
ists, 146;  hopes  advantage  from 
Hillsborough's  appointment,  151  ; 
discovers  Hillsborough's  enmity, 
152  ;  dispute  with  him  over  legality 
of  commission  from  Massachusetts, 
152-157;  a  telling  retort,  157;  no 
longer  recognized  as  agent  of  Massa- 
chusetts, 157  ;  low  opinion  of  Hills- 
borough, 158;  thinks  agents  quite 
as  valuable  to  government  as  to  col- 
onies, 158 ;  works  to  undermine 
Hillsborough,  159,  160  ;  controverts 
Hillsborough's  objections  to  two 
frontier  colonies,  162 ;  his  argu- 
ments prevail  with  the  privy  coun- 
cil, 163 ;  drives  Hillsborough  to 
resign,  163  ;  snubbed  by  him,  164  ; 
fails  to  get  the  grant  for  frontier 
provinces,  164  ;  suggests  Lord  Dart- 
mouth for  colonial  secretary,  165  ; 
amicable  relations  with  him,  166  ; 
counsels  him  to  be  patient  with  Mas- 
sachusetts, 167,  168;  would  be  sat- 
isfied with  a  return  to  conditions 
before  Stamp  Act,  169;  begins  to 
forbode  separation,  but  hopes  and 
works  for  peace,  171  ;  continually 
urges  moderation  on  colonists,  172  ; 
belief  in  efficacy  of  non-importation, 
173  ;  urges  its  advantages,  173 ;  and 
effects  upon  England,  174;  com- 
ments on  complete  financial  failure 
Stamp  Act  and  Customs  Act,  176  ; 
shown  copies  of  Tory  letters  from 
Massachusetts,  177  ;  sends  them  to 
Boston  under  pledge  of  secrecy, 
178  ;  publishes  a  letter  taking  upon 
himself  responsibility  of  their  dis- 
covery, 182,  183 ;  presents  petition 
of  Massachusetts  to  Dartmouth, 
183;  delicacy  of  his  position,  184; 
learns  that  Hutchinson  and  Oliver 


are  to  be  represented  by  counsel, 
185  ;  fearing  trouble  and  foreseeing 
an  attack,  asks  for  time,  186  ;  threats 
and  rumors,  187  ;  appears  before  a 
hostile  privy  council,  187,  188  ;  vio- 
lently attacked  as  a  thief  by  Wed- 
derburn,  188,  189;  the  "suit  of 
Manchester  velvet,"  191  ;  begins 
and  abandons  a  defense  of  himself, 
192 ;  dismissed  from  office  of  post- 
master, 192  ;  loses  his  standing  in 
England,  192,  193 ;  resigns  agency 
for  Massachusetts,  193  ;  rebuked  by 
Massachusetts  for  laxity,  194 ;  slan- 
dered by  Arthur  Lee,  194  ;  danger 
of  charges  of  treason,  195  ;  inter- 
view with  Lord  Chatham,  196; 
urges  policy  of  colonial  self-govern- 
ment, 197  ;  denies  that  independ- 
ence is  desired,  197  ;  wishes  unity 
of  the  Empire,  198 ;  attacked  by 
Lord  Sandwich  in  House  of  Lords, 
198;  defended  by  Chatham,  198, 
199;  irritated  at  attacks  on  America 
in  House  of  Commons,  199  ;  writes 
an  angry  letter  to  Dartmouth,  200 ; 
demands  reparation  for  injuries 
done  America  and  rights  denied, 
200  ;  saved  from  presenting  this  by 
advice  of  Walpole,  201,  202 ;  rejects 
secret  attempts  by  ministry  to  ne- 
gotiate, 202 ;  again  rejects  bribes, 
202  ;  last  day  in  London  with  Priest- 
ley, 203 ;  emotion  at  situation,  203 ; 
leaves  for  home,  203 ;  significance 
of  his  failure,  203. 
Member  of  Congress.  Revulsion  of 
feeling  on  reaching  America,  204; 
anger  against  England,  205 ;  letters 
to  Priestly  and  Strahan,  204,  205 ; 
elected  to  Congress,  206 :  active  in 
committee  work,  206 ;  willing  to 
send  the  Olive  Branch  petition,  206 ; 
hopes  thus  to  put  England  in  the 
wrong,  206  ;  suggests  offer  by  colo- 
nies to  pay  annual  sum  for  privilege 
of  Free  Trade,  207 ;  repels  humor- 
ously charge  of  colonial  ingratitude, 
207,  208 ;  formulates  a  plan  of  i 
union,  208 ;  chairman  of  committee 
on  postal  service,  209 ;  postmaster- 
general,  209  ;  chairman  of  Commit- 
tee of  Safety,  209;  plans  defenses 
for  Philadelphia,  209  ;  prevented  by 
necessary  oath  of  allegiance  from 
sitting  in  Pennsylvania  Assembly, 
209 ;  sent  to  Boston  to  confer  with 
Washington,  209 ;  to  Montreal  to 
confer  with  Arnold,  210  ;  president 
of  Pennsylvania  Constitutional  Con- 
vention, 211  ;  willing  to  join  a  New 
England  confederacy  rather  than 
none,  212  ;  connection  with  Decla- 
ration of  Independence,    212 ;    his 


INDEX 


435 


famous  jests,  212 ;  in  the  Articles 
of  Confederation  wishes  votes  of 
States  according  to  population,  212  ; 
correspondence  with  Lord  Howe, 
who  wishes  reconciliation,  213  ;  re- 
plies condemning  the  English,  213, 
214  ;  member  of  committee  of  Con- 
gress to  confer  with  Howe,  214  ;  re- 
marks, 215 ;  says  nothing  short  of 
independence  is  possible,  216 ;  his 
indignation  at  British  attacks,  217  ; 
suggests,  in  humorous  form,  to 
Priestley,  the  impossibility  of  con- 
quering the  Americans,  217,  218  ; 
depth  of  his  feeling,  218. 
Minister  to  France.  Appointed,  219, 
232 ;  the  only  American  with  diplo- 
matic experience,  220,  221  ;  voyage, 
232 ;  233  ;  alarm  of  English  at  news 
of  his  arrival,  234  ;  French  enthu- 
siasm, 234,  235;  settles  at  Passy, 
235  ;  avoids  thrusting  himself  upon 
the  government,  236  ;  presents  cre- 
dentials at  audience  given  by  Ver- 
gennes,  236,  237 ;  gains  a  secret 
loan,  237;  not  involved  in  Deane's 
schemes,  238 ;  befriends  Deane, 
240 ;  much  annoyed  by  the  compli- 
cations, 241,  242;  and  by  French 
officers  previously  encouraged  by 
Deane,  243,  244  ;  discourages  them, 
245;  uses  an  unvarnished  form  of 
letter  of  recommendation,  245 ; 
recognizes  value  of  Lafayette  and 
Steuben,  246;  impressed  with  feel- 
ing for  liberty  in  Europe,  247  ;  ex- 
pects great  liberal  immigration,  247  ; 
advises  privateering,  248 ;  charged 
with  duty  of  regulating  it,  249,  250  ; 
protects  privateers  against  French 
government,  250 ;  works  to  gain 
time,  251  ;  tries  to  exchange  pris- 
oners with  England,  253 ;  tart  cor- 
respondence with  Stormont,  253  ; 
indignant  at  treatment  of  American 
prisoners  by  English,  254,  255  ;  cor- 
respondence with  Hartley  on  the 
subject,  256-262 ;  urges  humane 
treatment,  257,  258  ;  proposes  liber- 
ation by  English  "  on  account,"  258, 
259, 260  ;  threatens  retaliatory  treat- 
ment, 260,  263;  finally  succeeds, 
261,  262  ;  difficulties  raised  by  Eng- 
lish, 262,  263  ;  sends  money  to  pris- 
oners, 263  ;  appoints  Williams 
naval  agent,  264  ;  acquiesces  in  his 
dismissal,  266  ;  predicts  in  1777  the 
ultimate  success  of  the  war,  268  ; 
prevents  desperate  measures  on 
Deane's  part,  269  ;  receives  news  of 
Burgoyne's  surrender,  270;  sends 
J.  L.  Austin  to  confer  with  English 
liberals,  271  ;  justifies  to  Hartl"y 
the  project  of  a  French  alliance, 


272,  273  ;  secret  negotiations  with 
France,  274,  275  ;  misunderstanding 
with  Lee,  275 ;  arranges  commercial 
concessions,  277  ;  plans  nearly  up- 
set by  Lee  and  Izard,  278-9  ;  signs 
treaty  in  "  Manchester  velvet  suit," 
279  ;  writes  to  Hartley  urging  peace, 
281,  282  ;  predicts  futility  of  English 
conciliatory  bills,  282  ;  presented  to 
Louis  XVI.,  283  ;  his  costume,  283 ; 
secures  in  treaty  principle  of  "  free 
ships,  free  goods,"  287  ;  favors  the 
"  armed  neutrality,"  288  ;  meetings 
with  Voltaire,  287,  288;  speaks 
well  of  Deane,  290 ;  accused  of  in- 
efficiency and  corruption  by  Lee 
and  Izard,  292,  293,  298  ;  criticised 
by  Adams,  294,  296;  personal  fru- 
gality of  Franklin,  297  ;  advises  a 
single  representative  at  Versailles, 

297  ;  made  minister  plenipotentiary, 

298  ;  insulted  by  Lee,  299  ;  supplies 
money,  commissions,  and  protection 
to  Paul  Jones,  300,  301  ;  advises 
plundering  English  coast,  301  ;  dif- 
ficulties with  Landais,  302. 

Foreign  Financial  Agent.  Forced 
to  beg  money  to  meet  congressional 
bills,  306  ;  assists  Jay,  307  ;  sole  ef- 
fective financier,  307,  308 ;  lends 
money  to  Congress,  308  ;  yields  two 
cargoes  to  Beaumarchais,  310 ;  ap- 
peals vainly  to  Thomas  Morris,  310  ; 
instructed  by  Congress  to  borrow 
money  and  build  ships  of  war,  311  ; 
writes  pamphlet  on  credit  of  the 
United  States,  311  ;  agrees  to  meet 
interest  on  congressional  loan,  311  ; 
obliged  to  meet  drafts,  312 ;  con- 
tinually surprised  by  new  and  old 
ones,  312  ;  not  warned  of  bills  drawn, 
312,  313,  318,  332  ;  annoyed  by  ex- 
orbitant demands  of  Lee  and  Izard, 
314  ;  refuses  Izard,  315  ;  attacked 
bitterly,  316,  317  ;  helps  officers  of 
"  Alliance,"  317  ;  humiliating  neces- 
sity of  begging  from  France,  318 ; 
hampered  by  state  agents  making 
lo\ns,  319  ;  aids  Jones,  320  ;  begs 
Congress  not  to  permit  its  agents  to 
draw  upon  him,  320  ;  assists  Jay, 
321,  322,  333,  335  ;  proposes  that 
Congress  furnish  supplies  to  French 
fleet,  322  ;  urges  sacrifice  in  Amer- 
ica, 323,  324  ;  meets  drafts  on  Lau- 
rens, 324,  326,  332;  overwhelmed 
by  fresh  demands,  325 ;  fragment  of 
his  diary  showing  the  swarm  of 
bills,  326  ;  more  begging  from  Ver- 
gennes,  327,  328  ;  secures  loan  in 
Holland,  328;  difficulties  over  Wil- 
liam Jackson's  purchases,  329,  330  ; 
helps  John  Adams  meet  drafts,  331 ; 
directed  by  Robert  Morris  to  make 


436 


INDEX 


further  requests,  331  ;  in  return 
asks  remittance  from  America,  331  ; 
yet  manages  to  meet  drafts,  332  ; 
promises  Vergennes  to  accept  no 
drafts  dated  later  than  March,  1781, 
332  ;  discovers  that  Congress  is  an- 
tedating bills,  332  ;  personal  liabil- 
ity, 332  ;  more  demands  from  Liv- 
ingston, 333,  334  ;  warned  by  Ver- 
gennes, 333 ;  refused  further  aid 
from  French,  but  succeeds  in  get- 
ing  more,  334 ;  begins  liquidation 
of  accounts,  335  ;  receives  further 
demands  for  loans,  335,  336 ;  re- 
leased by  treaty  of  peace,  336 ;  ac- 
cused of  sloth,  luxury,  and  indeci- 
sion by  Adams,  337,  338 ;  political 
value  of  his  personal  popularity  in 
France,  339  ;  breadth  of  view,  340  ; 
carelessness  never  caused  failure, 
341  ;  amount  of  his  labors,  341,  342  ; 
variety  of  functions,  342  ;  meagre- 
ness  of  assistance  rendered  him, 
343 ;  his  indolence  only  physical, 
344;  his  great  social  prestige  in 
Europe,  345 ;  its  value,  346 ;  an- 
noyed by  attacks  at  home,  347 ; 
patient  under  calumny,  348  ;  tries 
vainly  to  resign,  348  ;  his  requests 
uniformly  ignored  by  Congress,  349  ; 
urges  Congress  not  to  injure  for- 
eign creditors,  350  ;  appealed  to  by 
Adams  and  Vergennes  to  settle 
quarrel,  351  ;  agrees  with  Ver- 
gennes in  favor  of  foreign  creditors, 

353  ;  advises  Adams  to  smooth  over 
unwise   expressions   to   Vergennes, 

354  ;  hated  by  Adams,  355. 
Commissioner  to  make  peace.  Ap- 
proached by  Pulteney  as  to  peace, 
357 ;  by  de  Weissenstein,  358 ; 
thinks  latter  an  agent  for  George 
III.,  358;  writes  a  severe  answer 
which  he  does  not  send,  359 ;  ap- 
proached by  Hartley  as  to  truce, 
359;    bitterness    toward    England, 

359,  360  ;  refuses  from  the  outset 
to  discuss   possibility    of    reunion, 

360,  361 ;  gratitude  toward  France, 
362;  commissioned  to  treat  for 
peace,  363 ;  refuses  to  treat  sepa- 
rately from  France,  364 ;  suggests 
peace  to  Shelburne,  364 ;  inter- 
view with  Oswald,  365  ;  again 
refuses  separate  negotiations,  366  ; 
sends  suggestions  to  Shelburne,  366, 
371 ;  second  inconclusive  interview 
with  Oswald,  367 ;  dealings  with 
Grenville,  368 ;  urges  Jay  to  join 
him,  371 ;  asks  Shelburne  to  give 
Oswald  exclusive  authority,  371 ; 
continues  to  discuss  with  Oswald, 
372 ;  willing  to  accept  vague  com- 
mission given  Oswald,  373 ;  thinks 


well  of  Vergennes'   motives,  373; 

criticises  Jay's  letter  on  this  point, 
374;    differs    with    Jay    regarding 

French  duplicity,  375,  378;  re- 
sumes negotiations  with  Oswald, 
377  ;  surrenders  his  view  to  Jay 
and  Adams,  probably  to  save  time, 
379 ;  on  compensation  to  Tories, 
381  ;  suggests  counter-claims,  382 ; 
antipathy  to  loyalists,  382  ;  informs 
Vergennes  of  treaty,  384 ;  criti- 
cised by  him,  385  ;  apparent  dupli- 
city, 386  ;  tries  to  defend  his  ac- 
tion, 387  ;  blamed  at  home  for  too 
great  subservience  to  France,  388  ; 
persuades  Jay  not  to  write  a  de- 
fense, 388  ;  asks  Jay  and  Adams  to 
vindicate  him,  389 ;  increased  ill- 
feeling  with  Adams,  391  ;  merits  of 
the  dispute,  391  ;  large  part  played 
by  him  in  negotiations,  392 ;  value 
of  his  reputation,  392,  393;  his 
friendly  opinion  of  Vergennes,  393, 
394,  and  of  France,  395 ;  again  re- 
signs, 396 ;  retained  for  commer- 
cial treaties,  397 ;  pleasant  life  in 
Paris,  397,  398;  departure  from 
France,  400,  401 ;  voyage,  401,  402. 

President  of  Pennsylvania.  Arrival 
at  Philadelphia,  popular  welcome, 
403 ;  elected  President  of  State 
Council,  403 ;  acts  as  peacemaker 
between  factions,  404 ;  successive 
reflections,  404 ;  devotes  salary  to 
public  use,  404  ;  humorous  proposal 
for  paying  British  debts,  405;  not 
discouraged  by  condition  of  Amer- 
ica, 406  ;  preaches  coolness,  407  ; 
elected  member  of  Constitutional 
Convention,  407. 

In  Constitutional  Convention. 
Elected  in  order  to  preside  in  possible 
absence  of  Washington,  407;  opposes 
centralization,  408 ;  views  on  con- 
stitutional points,  408-411 ;  moves 
that  sessions  open  with  prayer,  409 ; 
urges  harmony,  411 ;  favors  Wash- 
ington for  president,  412 ;  leaves 
public  life,  412 ;  physical  infirmi- 
ties, 412 ;  cheerfulness  of  mind  in 
later  days,  413,  414 ;  applauds 
French  Revolution,  415  ;  president 
of  abolition  society,  415 ;  condemns 
too  great  license  of  press,  416 ; 
death,  417  ;  public  honors  in  Amer- 
ica, 417  ;  but  continued  neglect  on 
part  of  Congress  to  adjust  his  ac- 
counts or  recompense  Temple 
Franklin,  417,  418 ;  memorial  cere 
monies  in  France,  419. 

Character.  General  summary  420- 
427  ;  an  unfavorable  view,  337,  338; 
criticisms  on  the  foregoing,  338- 
344;  religious   views,   5,   9,   24-29; 


INDEX 


437 


moral  attitude,  21,  24,  29-33  ;  utili- 
tarianism, 29-30 ;  422-424  ;  wit  and 
humor,  11,  120,  134,  207,  212,  208, 
405,  420;  humanity,  101,  112,  144, 
254-204,  393,  425;  patriotism,  203, 
424 ;  courage  and  cheerfulness,  145, 
172,  208,  400  ;  business  ability,  12, 
13,  39 ;  literary  ability,  22,  35,  43, 
420;  diplomatic  ability,  338-344; 
tact,  52,  112,  113,  243,  244,  305 ;  po- 
litical insight,  121-120 ;  other  char- 
acteristics, 19,  20,  21,  33,  30,  171, 
172,  218;  reputation  in  Europe,  75, 
111,  144,  235,  398,  401,  419. 

Political  Opinions.  On  colonial 
union,  44,  208  ;  on  parliamentary  su- 
premacy, 40,47, 190  ;  on  colonial  re- 
presentation in  Parliament,  49,  128  ; 
on  relation  of  colonies  to  England, 
66,  124-126 ;  on  external  and  inter- 
nal taxation,  130, 131  ;  on  free  ships 
and  free  goods,  207 ;  on  colonial 
system,  48,  197  ;  on  paper  money, 
13,  355 ;  on  export  duties,  277  ;  on 
non-importation ,  173,  174  ;  on  pro- 
prietary government,  92,  93 ;  in 
constitutional  convention,  favors 
unpaid  presidency,  408;  favors  re- 
presentation proportional  to  popula- 
tion, 212,  409 ;  suggests  compro- 
mise, 410 ;  favors  wide  suffrage, 
410 ;  brief  naturalization  period, 
410  ;  president  for  seven  years,  ineli- 
gible for  reelection,  and  liable  to  im- 
peachment, 410  ;  on  French  Revolu- 
tion, 415 ;  on  slavery,  415,  410  ;  a 
believer  in  democracy,  408,  421  ; 
but  from  faith  in  mankind,  not  mere 
theory,  421,  424. 

Franklin,  Mrs.  Deborah,  0;  engaged 
to  Franklin,  14 ;  previous  matrimo- 
nial experiences,  15  ;  marries  Frank- 
lin, 15  ;  receives  Franklin's  illegiti- 
mate son,  16 ;  dread  of  crossing  the 
Atlantic,  70,  78 ;  in  danger  during 
Stamp  Act  riots,  109;  Franklin's 
present  of  a  gown  to,  134;  death, 
203. 

Franklin,  James,  takes  his  brother 
Benjamin  Franklin  as  apprentice, 
4 ;  unfriendly  relations,  5. 

Franklin,  Josiah,  emigrates  to  Bos- 
ton, 2  ;  his  family,  2, 3  ;  father  of 
Benjamin  Franklin,  3  ;  devotes  him 
to  the  church,  3 ;  suggests  that  lie 
become  a  printer,  4  ;  refuses  to  aid 
him  in  Philadelphia,  7  . 

Franklin,  Sarah,  offer  of  marriage,  76  ; 
leaves  Philadelphia  to  escape  Stamp 
Act  riots,  109  ;  marriage  to  Richard 
Bache,  203. 

Franklin,  Temple,  assists  his  grand- 
father in  Paris,  273,  343,  347  ;  neg- 
lected by  Congress,  417. 


Franklin,  William,  birth,  16  ;  refuses 
to  marry  Mary  Stevenson,  76 ;  ap- 
pointed governor  of  New  Jersey, 
85 ;  becomes  a  Tory  and  alienated 
from  his  father,  85 ;  partial  recon- 
ciliation, 85,  401. 

"Free  Ships  and  Free  Goods,"  doc- 
trine upheld  by  Franklin,  287. 

"French  and  Indian  War,"  49-58  ;  con- 
flict inevitable,  44,  50  ;  inequality  of 
combatants,  50 ;  Braddock's  expe- 
dition, 51-55  ;  outcome  of  war,  78. 

French  Revolution,  applauded  by 
Franklin,  415. 

Gadsden,  Christopher,  107,  111. 

Galloway,  Joseph,  speech  against 
Pennsylvania  Proprietors,  94 ;  de- 
feated for  reelection,  97. 

Gates,  General,  captor  of  Burgoyne, 
272,  280,  298. 

"  Gentleman's  Magazine,"  praises 
Franklin's  examination  before  Com- 
mons, 121. 

George  III.,  desires  peace  with  France, 
78 ;  displaces  Grenville,  114  ;  favor- 
able opinion  of  Franklin  towards, 
120,  127  ;  hatred  of  Shelburne,  148, 
150  ;  vexed  with  Hillsborough,  100  ; 
hatred  of  Franklin,  284 ;  supposed 
to  be  author  of  De  Weissenstein 
letter,  358  ;  makes  Shelburne  prime 
minister,  372. 

George  IV.,  interview  with  Austin, 
271. 

Georgia,  appoints  Franklin  its  agent, 
138. 

Gerard,  M.,  asks  for  proposals  for  al- 
liance, 274 ;  negotiates  treaty,  274, 
275 ;  arranges  reciprocity  with 
Franklin,  278  ;  signs  treaty,  279 ; 
minister  to  United  States,  285 ; 
claims  credit  of  having  defeated 
Lee's  schemes,  298. 

Gibbon,  remark  on  diplomatic  events 
in  1777,  280. 

Grand,  M.,  banker  for  Franklin,  314, 
327,  330. 

Granville,  Lord,  interview  with  Frank- 
lin, 06  ;  asserts  that  king  is  legisla- 
tor for  the  colonies,  66  ;  defends 
English  colonial  system,  67. 

Greene,  General,  his  remark  on  meet- 
ing Franklin,  210. 

Grenville,  George,  proposes  enforce- 
ment of  colonial  trade  regulations, 
104 ;    introduces  Stamp   Act,    104 
honesty  of  his  intentions,  105,  143 
unmoved  by  Franklin's  protest,  100 
asks  Franklin  to  name  a  distributer 
108  ;  views  on  parliamentary  power 
over  America,  117  ;  loss  of  prestige, 
143. 

Grenville,  Thomas,  sent  by  Fox  to 


438 


INDEX 


treat  with  France  and  with  the 
United  States,  366 ;  preposterous 
offer  to  Vergennes,  367  :  relations 
with  Franklin,  368,  369-  difficulty 
over  his  commission,  371 ;  recalled, 
372;  remark  on  self-seeking  of 
France,  395. 
Guadaloupe.     See  Canada. 

Hale,  Edward  E. ,  quoted,  234,  238, 
242,  281,  290,  303. 

Hall,  David,  fellow  workman  of 
Franklin,  9;  taken  into  partner- 
ship, 39. 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  mentioned,  344  ; 
opposes  Franklin's  motion  to  open 
sessions  of  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion with  prayer,  409. 

Hamilton,  governor  of  Pennsylvania, 
superseded,  87. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  on  committee 
with  Franklin,  209. 

Hartley,  David,  character  and  friend- 
ship with  Franklin,  256  ;  aids  Amer- 
ican prisoners,  256 ;  tries  to  ar- 
range exchanges,  258 ;  unable  to 
hasten  matters,  261  ;  finally  suc- 
ceeds, 262;  cautions  Franklin 
against  a  French  alliance,  272 ; 
sends  copies  of  conciliatory  bills  to 
Franklin,  281  ;  visits  him,  282 ; 
warning  to  Franklin ,  288  ;  proposes 
a  truce,  359  ;  letters  to,  360,  364. 

Harvard  College  makes  Franklin 
Master  of  Arts,  43. 

Henry,  Patrick,  107,  111. 

Hillsborough,  Earl  of,  replaces  Shel- 
burne  in  charge  of  the  colonies, 
151,  157  ;  Franklin's  opinion  of, 
151  ;  holds  that  colonial  agents  were 
illegally  appointed,  152  ;  interview 
and  dispute  with  Franklin,  153- 
157 ;  angry  at  Franklin's  retort, 
157  ;  refuses  to  recognize  Franklin 
as  agent,  157  ;  his  theory  followed 
by  board  of  trade,  158  ;  loses  pres- 
tige, 159  ;  disliked  by  George  III., 
160  ;  tries  to  prevent  granting  of 
barrier  colonies,  160-162 ;  his  ac- 
tion reversed  by  privy  council  at 
Franklin's  suggestion,  163 ;  re- 
signs, 163 ;  resentment  against 
Franklin,  164. 

Hortalez  &  Co.     See  Beaumarchais. 

Howe,  Lord,  negotiations  with  Frank- 
lin in  England,  202  ;  tries  to  medi- 
ate in  America,  213 ;  arranges  a 
conference  with  Franklin,  Adams, 
and  Rutledge,  214,  215;  fails  to 
find  common  ground,  216. 

Hughes,  ,  named  stamp  distri- 
buter at  Franklin's  suggestion,  108. 

Hume,  David,  75. 

Hunter,  William,  43. 


Hutchinson,  Anne,  178  note. 

Hutchinson,  Governor,  disputes  over 
parliamentary  taxation  with  Massa- 
chusetts Assembly,  166 ;  vexes 
Dartmouth,  167  ;  writes  letters  urg- 
ing ministry  to  take  severe  mea- 
sures in  Boston,  177  ;  value  of  his 
advice  to  ministry,  178  note  ;  peti- 
tion for  his  removal,  183;  advises 
detention  of  Franklin,  196. 

Hutchinson  Letters,  177-193;  shown 
to  Franklin,  177 ;  sent  by  him  to 
America  under  pledge  of  secrecy, 
178 ;  published,  179 ;  manner  of 
transmission  unknown,  180  ;  quar- 
rel between  Temple  and  Whately, 
181  ;  responsibility  taken  by  Frank- 
lin, 182, 183  ;  question  as  to  honora- 
bleness  of  his  action,  184 ;  attack 
on  Franklin  before  Privy  Council, 
185-191  ;  incident  ruins  Franklin's 
standing,  193. 

Ignorance  of  English  concerning 
America,  132,  134,  135,  137. 

Indians,  Franklin's  dealings  with, 
40,  44  ;  their  opinion  of  rum,  41 ; 
hated  in  Pennsylvania,  83,  87. 

Independence  of  colonies,  dreaded  in 
England,  49,  66,  79,  106  ;  its  possi- 
bility denied  by  Franklin,  81,  82,  83, 
108, 197  ;  foreseen  by  Pratt,  Choiseul, 
Vergennes,  83  ;  its  approach  recog- 
nized by  Franklin,  107,  171  ;  repu- 
diated by  Congress,  211  ;  declara- 
tion of,  212. 

Internal  and  external  taxation,  dis- 
pute concerning  difference,  130 ; 
identity  upheld  by  Grenville,  130  ; 
by  Townshend,  149 ;  denied  by 
Franklin,  130,  131. 

Ireland,  suggested  as  possible  member 
of  Confederation  by  Franklin,  208. 

Izard,  rank  as  diplomate,  220;  sides 
with  Lee  against  Franklin,  278 ; 
quarrel  with  Franklin,  279 ;  attacks 
Deane  and  Franklin,  290 ;  charges 
against  Franklin,  292,  298,  399  ;  ex- 
travagant demands  for  money,  297, 
299,  314  ;  letter  of  Franklin  to,  314. 

Jackson,  William,  buys  supplies  in 
Holland,  328,  329  ;  draws  on  Frank- 
lin, 329  ;  damages  American  credit, 
329 ;  complications  about  goods, 
330  ;  his  pro-slavery  speech  in  Con- 
gress, 416. 

Jay,  John,  his  "  conscience  "  in  Con- 
gress, 208  ;  rank  as  diplomate,  220  ; 
humiliating  situation  as  financial 
agent  in  Spain,  307  ;  inability  to 
raise  money,  307,  321  ;  helped  by 
Franklin,  307,  322,  332,  333,  335 ; 
defers  to  Franklin's  opinion,  342,- 


INDEX 


439 


recognizes  importance  of  Franklin's 
position,  346 ;  appointed  commis- 
sioner to  treat  for  peace,  349  ;  sent 
for  by  Franklin  to  aid  in  treating, 
370  ;  illness,  372  ;  insists  on  recog- 
nition of  independence  in  Oswald's 
commission,  373 ;  suspects  Ver- 
gennes'  motives,  373;  is  certain 
that  Vergennes  is  secretly  work- 
ing against  United  States,  375  ;  per- 
suades Shelburne  to  grant  the  new 
commission,  376  ;  wishes  to  nego- 
tiate without  Vergennes,  378  ;  ar- 
ranges boundaries  and  Mississippi 
navigation  in  the  treaty,  380 ;  in- 
dignant at  congressional  reproof, 
388 ;  dissuaded  by  Franklin  from 
replying,  388;  testimony  in  behalf 
of  Franklin,  390,  399 ;  freedom  from 
quarrels,  390 ;  the  real  leader  in  the 
negotiations,  391. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  mentioned,  212 ; 
declines  mission  to  France,  232 ; 
appointed  commissioner  to  treat  for 
peace,  349  ;  arrival  in  Paris,  398 ; 
succeeds  Franklin,  398 ;  describes 
his  popularity,  398 ;  on  Franklin's 
calumniators,  399. 

Jones,  John  Paul,  his  daring  exploits, 
300,  301 ;  supported  by  Franklin, 
301  ;  advised  by  him,  301. 

"Junto,"  club  founded  by  Franklin, 
34 ;  becomes  a  political  engine,  34, 
35. 

Kames,  Lord,  75 ;  letters  to,  77,  83. 

Kant,  Immanuel,  calls  Franklin  Pro- 
metheus, 60. 

Keimer, ,  Franklin's  employer  in 

Philadelphia,  6,  11 ;  prints  a  news- 
paper and  sells  out  to  Franklin,  12. 

Keith,  Sir  William,  governor  of  Penn- 
sylvania, proposes  to  set  Franklin 
up  as  printer,  6 ;  tricks  him  into 
sailing  to  England,  7,  8. 

Knox, ,  agent  of  Georgia,   favors 

Stamp  Act,  105. 

Lafayette,  Marquis  de,  recom- 
mended by  Franklin,  246 ;  brings 
Franklin's  commission,  298 ;  tries 
to  help  Franklin  raise  money,  333. 

Landais,  French  captain  of  American 
vessel,  302  ;  refuses  to  obey  Frank- 
lin, 302  ;  goes  insane,  302,  303. 

Laurens,  Henry,  rank  as  diplomate, 
220 ;  complains  of  Franklin's  neg- 
lect, 264 ;  captured,  324  ;  appointed 
commissioner  to  treat  for  peace, 
349  ;  letter  from  Franklin  to,  390  ; 
confidence  in  Franklin,  399. 

Laurens,  John,  great  expenses  in 
Holland,  238,  329. 

Lee,  Arthur,  appointed  by  Massachu- 


setts to  succeed  Franklin  as  her 
agent  on  his  departure  from  Eng- 
land, 141 ;  praised  by  Franklin, 
141 ;  slanders  him,  141  ;  unable  to 
help  Franklin  when  attacked  be- 
fore Privy  Council,  185 ;  circulates 
rumors  of  Franklin's  treachery, 
194  ;  still  praised  by  Franklin,  194 ; 
succeeds  Franklin,  203 ;  rank  as 
diplomate,  220 ;  influences  Beau- 
marchais,  226  ;  appointed  Franklin's 
colleague  in  France,  232  ;  suspects 
Deane  and  Beaumarchais,  238  ;  pre- 
vents Congress  from  sending  them 
goods,  239 ;  ruins  Deane,  239,  240 ; 
slanders  Williams,  265 ;  secures  his 
removal,  266;  joins  with  Franklin 
against  Deane,  270 ;  description  of 
secret  meetings  of  Vergennes  with 
commissioners,  274 ;  jealousy  of 
Franklin,  the  cake  episode,  275 ; 
objects  to  reciprocity  with  French 
West  Indies,  277  ;  tries  to  reverse 
action  taken  on  it,  278  ;  rage  with 
Franklin  at  not  being  told  of  sailing 
of  Gerard  and  Deane,  290 ;  his  evil 
influence  at  home,  291  ;  general  un- 
popularity, 291,  317  ;  virulent  ha- 
tred of  Franklin,  292 ;  extravagant 
slanders,  292,  293,  297;  excessive 
demands  for  money,  297,  299,  314, 
316 ;  sent  to  Madrid,  298 ;  refuses 
to  give  up  papers  of  French  em- 
bassy, 299  ;  prevents  a  Spanish  loan 
by  his  imprudence,  317  ;  defers  to 
Franklin,  342;  influence  in  preju- 
dicing Massachusetts  against  Frank- 
lin, 399. 

Lee,  John,  counsel  for  Franklin  in 
Hutchinson  letters  affair,  187,  188. 

Lee,  William,  rank  as  diplomate,  220  ; 
offended  at  appointment  of  Jona- 
than Williams,  265 ;  sides  with  Ar- 
thur Lee  against  terms  of  French 
treaty,  278 ;  makes  charges  against 
Franklin,  298. 

Lexington,  fight  at,  204. 

Library,  established  by  Franklin,  20  ; 
parent  of  later  subscription  libra- 
ries, 20. 

Livingston,  R.  R.,  letters  of  Franklin 
to,  323,  335;  letters  from,  asking 
money,  333,  334  ;  condemns  commis- 
sioners for  making  treaty  without 
French  advice,  388. 

"  London  Chronicle"  publishes  Frank- 
lin's  letters  to  Shirley,  47. 

Loudoun,  Lord,  appointed  military 
head  of  colonies,  64 ;  his  procrasti- 
nation and  inefficiency,  65. 

Louis  XVI.,  puzzled  by  Beaumarchais' 
zeal  for  the  colonies,  226 ;  sides 
with  Turgot  in  opposing  interven- 
tion, 228 ;  compliments    American 


440 


INDEX 


envoys,  283 ;  civilities  to  Franklin, 
401. 

Lovell,  James,  Franklin's  letter  to. 
312. 

Luzerne,  Chevalier  de  la,  French 
minister  to  the  United  States,  351, 
363,  387. 

Lynch, ,  on  committee  with  Frank- 
lin, 209. 

Mansfield,  Lord,  arranges  settlement 
of  Penn  dispute  with  Franklin,  70, 
71 ;  upholds  parliamentary  power 
over  colonies,  118 ;  condemns  a 
pamphlet  of  Franklin's,  136. 

Massachusetts  appoints  Franklin  its 
agent,  138 ;  fails  to  pay  him,  139  ; 
quarrels  with  Hutchinson  over  par- 
liamentary supremacy,  166 ;  peti- 
tions for  removal  of  Hutchinson 
and  Oliver,  183 ;  rebukes  Franklin 
for  carelessness,  194. 

Mauduit, ,  agent  for  Hutchinson, 

185. 

Meredith, ,  Franklin's  partner,  11, 

12. 

Mirabeau,  eulogy  on  Franklin,  419. 

Molasses  trade,  its  importance  to  the 
colonies,  276;  remarks  of  Adams 
upon,  276 ;  secured  in  French 
treaty,  277-279. 

Morris,  Robert,  offended  at  appoint- 
ment of  Jonathan  Williams,  265 ; 
appointed  treasurer,  304  ;  complete 
reliance  on  Franklin,  307 ;  urges 
Franklin  to  suggest  to  Vergennes 
to  help  America  to  raise  a  loan  at 
Madrid,  331  ;  drafts  on  Franklin, 
333-336  ;  letters  of  Franklin  to,  333, 
334,  335,  336 ;  directs  Franklin  to 
leave  surplus,  if  any,  to  M.  Grand, 
336. 

Morris,  Thomas,  rank  as  diplomate, 
220 ;  commercial  agent  at  Nantes, 
264 ;  his  incompetence,  264,  265,  311. 

Navy,  United  States,  supported  by 
Franklin,  300-303. 

Necker,  induced  by  Franklin  to  guar- 
antee a  loan,  328. 

New  Jersey,  appoints  Franklin  its 
agent,  138. 

"  New  England  Courant,"  printed 
under  Franklin's  name,  5. 

Noailles,  Marquis  de,  announces  to 
England  alliance  of  French  with 
United  States,  284. 

Non- importation,  its  effectiveness 
against  the  Stamp  Act,  115,  116; 
urged  later  by  Franklin,  173,  175 ; 
acts  like  "protection,"  173;  its  ef- 
fects upon  the  East  India  Company, 
175 ;  other  effects,  176. 

Nbrris,  Isaac,   declines    to   represent 


Pennsylvania  against  the  Proprie* 
tors  in  England,  63 ;  resigns  speak- 
ership rather  than  sign  petition,  94. 
North,  Lord,  chancellor  of  exchequer, 
151  ;  at  Privy  Council  hearing,  190 ; 
attempt's  to  bribe  Franklin,  202; 
permits  Hartley  to  correspond  with 
Franklin,  256  ;  forced  by  Burgoyne's 
surrender  to  attempt  conciliation 
with  colonies,  280 ;  twitted  by  Fox 
with  French  and  American  alliance, 
281 ;  receives  news  of  Cornwallis's 
surrender,  363 ;  tries  to  alienate 
France  from  the  States,  363,  364 ; 
resigns,  364. 

Oliver,  Lieutenant-Governor,  his 
letters,  177 ;  petition  for  his  re- 
moval, 183. 

Oswald,  Richard,  sent  by  Shelburne 
to  discuss  peace  with  Franklin, 
365  ;  second  visit,  366  ;  fruitless  in- 
terview with  Franklin,  367 ;  pre- 
ferred to  Grenville  by  Franklin, 
371 ;  continues  negotiation,  372 ; 
difficulty  over  his  commission,  373 ; 
receives  satisfactory  commission, 
376  ;  agrees  to  a  draft  treaty,  377. 

Otis,  James,  opposition  to  Stamp  Act, 
107,  111. 

Oxford  University  makes  Franklin 
Doctor  of  Laws,  75. 

Parliament,  supremacy  of,  over  colo- 
nies, denied  by  Franklin,  47;  as- 
serted by  Shirley,  46 ;  by  Parlia- 
ment, 64  ;  Stamp  Act  raises  ques- 
ton,  110  ;  denied  by  Pitt,  114.  117  ; 
debate  over  declaratory  resolution 
in  Parliament,  118  ;  arguments  of 
Franklin  before  Commons,  124-126  ; 
distinction  between  internal  and  ex- 
ternal taxes,  130 ;  debates  under 
Dartmouth's  ministry,  167-170. 

Parton,  James,  Life  of  Franklin, 
quoted,  3,  16,  23,  36,  97,  208,  222, 
232,  240,  241,  271,  281,  283,  407,  415, 
419. 

"Paxton  massacre,"  87-89;  Paxton 
boys  threaten  Indians  in  Philadel- 
phia, 88  ;  overawed  by  Franklin's 
preparations,  89 ;  unpopularity  of 
lattter  with  lower  classes,  90. 

Pelham,  Henry,  said  to  have  planned 
a  Stamp  Act,  104. 

Penn  family,  proprietaries,  strained 
relations  with  people,  49,  60;  re- 
fuse to  allow  lands  to  be  taxed  by 
Assembly,  61,  62  ;  interviews  with 
Franklin,  67  ;  complain  to  Pennsyl- 
vania of  him,  68 ;.  endeavor  to  get 
taxing  acts  disallowed,  69 ;  denied 
by  the  board  of  trade,  70,  72 ;  con- 
tinue struggle  with  Assembly,  90; 


INDEX 


441 


their  corrupt  practices,  94,  95 ;  fa- 
mous epitaph  by  Franklin,  95 ;  his 
hostility  later  diminished,  95. 

Penn,  John,  appointed  governor  of 
Pennsylvania,  87  ;  agreeable  begin- 
ning of  adminiustration,  87 ;  pro- 
tected and  directed  by  Franklin  at 
time  of  Paxton  massacre,  89  ;  ve- 
toes bills  of  the  Assembly,  90,  91. 

Penn,  Thomas,  wishes  Parliament  to 
tax  colonies,  49,  64. 

Penn,  William,  suggests  colonial 
union,  44. 

Pennsylvania,  reluctance  to  take  mili- 
tary measures,  39,  49,  52  ;  contro- 
versy with  proprietors,  G0-64,  G9,  72, 
73,  90-99  ;  desires  to  be  a  crown 
colony,  63,  64,  91-93;  labors  of 
Franklin  in  behalf  of,  66-72,  101, 
102  ;  adopts  a  state  constitution, 
211 ;  chooses  Franklin  president  of 
legislature,  403,  404. 

"  Pennsylvania  Gazette,"  published 
by  Franklin,  12  ;  its  character  and 
success,  13,  23  ;  Franklin's  writings 
in,  44. 

Pitt,  William,  refuses  audience  to 
Franklin,  74 ;  opposes  Stamp  Act, 
114,  117 ;  upholds  American  claim 
to  self-taxation,  117 ;  denies  par- 
liamentary power  over  colonies,  118  ; 
reorganizes  cabinet,  147  ;  supports 
Shelburne,  148 ;  becomes  Earl  of 
Chatham,  148;  loses  control  of  af- 
fairs, 148,  150;  statue  erected  in 
America,  149 ;  interview  with  Frank- 
lin, 196 ;  compliments  Franklin  in 
House  of  Lords,  198. 

"Plain  Truth,"  effect  upon  Pennsyl- 
vania, 39. 

"Poor  Richard's  Almanac,"  21;  its 
character  and  influence,  22 ;  wit 
and  wisdom,  22,  23. 

Pownall,  Governor,  favors  barrier 
Western  colonies,  57. 

Pratt,  Attorney-General  [see  Camden, 
Lord]. 

Price,  Dr.,  humorous  message  of 
Franklin  to,  217,  218. 

Priestley,  Dr.,  present  at  Privy  Coun- 
cil hearing,  190 ;  describes  Frank- 
lin's last  day  with  him  in  London, 
203;  letters  of  Franklin  to,  204, 
217  ;  protects  Austin,  271. 

Prisoners,  exchange  of,  difficulties  at- 
tending, 252,  253;  hardships  of 
American  prisoners,  253,  254,  255  ; 
refusal  of  British  to  consider  them 
prisoners  of  war,  254;  efforts  of 
Franklin  to  secure  this  recognition, 
255-264  ;  correspondence  with  Hart- 
ley, 256-262  ;  proposes  exchange  "  on 
account,"  258,  260 ;  final  success, 
262,  263;  refusal  to  exchange  pri- 


vateer prisoners,  263 ;  retaliation 
suggested,  263. 

Privateers,  their  feats  in  English  wa- 
ters, 248,  249  ;  protected  and  com- 
missioned by  Franklin,  250,  252. 

Prussia,  treaty  with,  signed  by  Frank- 
lin, 397. 

Pulteney,  William,  visits  Franklin 
with  a  view  to  peace,  357. 

Ralph,  James,  9. 

Rayneval,  F.  M.  G.  de,  secretary  to 
Vergennes,  375 ;  argues  with  Jay 
against  American  claims  to  West- 
ern lands,  375 ;  secret  journey  to 
London,  375. 

Representation  in  Parliament,  colo- 
nial, proposed  by  Shirley,  48 ;  by 
others,  127,  128  ;  views  of  Franklin, 
48,  49,  128,  129. 

Robertson,  Dr.,  75. 

Rockingham,  Marquis  of,  prime  min- 
ister, 115  ;  decides  to  repeal  Stamp 
Act,  118 ;  on  importance  of  Frank- 
lin's arrival  in  France,  234  ;  forms 
cabinet  after  Yorktown,  365  ;  death, 
372. 

"  Rules  for  reducing  a  great  empire  to 
a  small  one,"  136;  condemned  by 
Mansfield,  136,  137. 

Rutledge,  Edward,  on  committee  to 
treat  with  Lord  Howe,  214,  215,  216. 

Sandwich,  Lord,  attacks  Franklin  in 
House  of  Lords,  198. 

Saville,  Sir  George,  friendly  to  Amer- 
ica, 282. 

Shelburne,  Earl  of,  friendly  to  Amer- 
ica, 147 ;  administers  colonial  af- 
fairs, 147  ;  hampered  byTownshend, 
148;  and  hated  by  George  III.,  148, 
149 ;  superseded  by  Hillsborough, 
151  ;  protects  Austin,  271 ;  timely 
letter  of  Franklin  to,  365 ;  enters 
Rockingham  cabinet,  365 ;  sends 
Oswald  to  Franklin,  365  ;  unwilling 
to  admit  independence  of  colonies, 
367  ;  idea  of  a  federal  union,  367  ; 
difficulties  with  Fox,  366,  370,  372  ; 
becomes  prime  minister,  372;  as- 
sures Franklin  of  continuation  of 
previous  policy  toward  America, 
372 ;  issues  vague  commission  to 
Oswald,  372 ;  appealed  to  by  Jay 
not  to  be  led  by  Vergennes,  376  ; 
his  liberal  views,  376 ;  gives  new 
commission,  376  ;  his  anxiety  over 
the  concession,  377  ;  earnest  in  be- 
half of  Tories,  381,  382 ;  finally 
yields,  382  ;  condemned  in  England 
and  loses  office,  383. 

Shirley,  governor  of  Massachusetts, 
proposes  scheme  of  colonial  union, 
46  ;  discussion  with   Franklin,  47- 


442 


INDEX 


49 ;   appoints    auditors   for    claims 
under  Braddock's  expedition,   54  ; 
his  success  as  a  soldier  explained 
by  Franklin,  56. 
Sieves,  M.,  419. 

Spain  secretly  aids  Beaumarchais, 
229  ;  aid  asked  in  recognizing  United 
States,  274,  275,  279;  gives  slight 
financial  aid,  307,  317,  321;  inter- 
ests in  America  threaten  to  prolong 
war,  369 ;  or  divide  France  and 
States,  370 ;  tries  to  prevent  States 
gaining  Western  lands,  380. 

Stamp  Act,  causes  leading  to  it,  102, 
103;  colonial  taxation  proposed  by 
Townshend,  103;  plan  resumed  by 
Grenville,  104,  105;  protests  of 
colonial  agents  disregarded,  106; 
passed,  106 ;  opinion  of  Franklin 
concerning,  106  ;  causes  violent  out- 
break in  Pennsylvania,  109;  in 
other  colonies,  110;  rouses  opposi- 
tion among  Grenville's  opponents, 
114 ;  among  English  exporters  who 
find  trade  cut  down,  115,  116 ;  at- 
tacked by  Pitt,  117;  its  repeal  de- 
cided on,  118  ;  way  paved  by  a  de- 
claratory resolution  of  its  validity, 
118;  debated,  118;  examination  of 
Franklin  ao  to  its  effects,  119-123; 
effect  on  English  sentiment,  121 ; 
testimony  as  to  colonial  feeling, 
122 ;  argument  as  to  colonial  right 
of  self -taxation,  124;  repealed,  132, 
133;  popular  rejoicing  in  England, 
133 ;  in  America,  133,  134 ;  causes 
for  repeal,  142;  repeal  caused  by 
union  of  diverse  elements,  143. 

St.  Andrews  University  makes  Frank- 
lin Doctor  of  Laws,  75. 

St.  Asaph,  Bishop  of,  friend  to  Amer- 
ica, 282;  visits  Franklin  at  Ports- 
mouth, 401 ;  letters  to,  409,  414. 

Steuben,  Baron,  recommended  by 
Franklin,  246. 

Stevenson,  Mary,  scientific  tastes,  76 ; 
wished  by  Franklin  to  marry  his 
son,  76  ;  letters  to,  86,  101. 

Stiles,  Ezra,  letter  to,  28. 

Stormont,  Lord,  English  ambassador 
to  France,  complains  of  Beaumar- 
chais, 230;  threatens  to  leave  if 
Franklin  is  allowed  to  come  to 
Paris,  234  ;  refuses  to  communicate 
with  Franklin,  253  ;  recalled,  285. 

Strachey,  Henry,  sent  to  Paris  by 
Shelburne,  377. 

Strahan,  William,  offers  his  son  to 
marry  Franklin's  daughter,  76; 
letters  to,  77,  84,  205. 

Sullivan,  General,  carries  message  of 
Lord  Howe  to  Congress,  214. 

Temple, ,  suspected  of  having  sent 


Hutchinson  letters  to  America,  181 ; 
calls  on  Whately  to  exonerate  him, 
181 ;  quarrel  and  duel,  182 ;  excul- 
pated by  Franklin,  182. 

Thomson,  Charles,  letters  to,  106, 417. 

Thornton,  Major,  agent  of  Franklin 
to  aid  prisoners,  257. 

Townshend,  Charles,  proposes  colo- 
nial taxation,  103 ;  goes  out  of  office, 
104  ;  hostility  to  colonies,  116 ;  will- 
ing to  repeal  Stamp  Act,  143 ;  chan- 
cellor of  exchequer,  147 ;  favored 
by  George  III.,  148;  renews  pro- 
posal to  draw  a  revenue  from  Amer- 
ica, 149 ;  proposes  disciplining  New 
York,  150 ;  introduces  bill  for  Amer- 
ican customs  duties,  150  ;  death,  151. 

"Townshend  duties,"  introduction, 
150  ;  passage,  150  ;  non-importation 
used  against,  174-175 ;  effect  in  de- 
stroying revenue,  175  ;  and  increas- 
ing cost  of  collection,  176. 

Treaty  of  peace,  early  suggestions  of 
peace  without  independence  by 
Pulteney,  357;  by  "Charles  de 
Weissenstein,"  357,  358  ;  latter  sup- 
posed to  be  George  III.,  358;  an- 
swered by  Franklin,  358,  359  ;  pro- 
posals by  Hartley,  359;  high  tone 
of  Franklin's  replies,  361 ;  effects 
of  capture  of  Cornwallis,  363;  ef- 
forts by  Lord  North  to  divide  the 
States  and  France,  363  ;  repudiated 
by  Franklin  and  by  Vergennes,  364 ; 
fall  of  North  cabinet,  364;  forma- 
tion of  Rockingham  cabinet,  friendly 
to  America,  365 ;  Shelburne  sends 
Oswald  to  see  Franklin  and  Ver- 
gennes, 365 ;  plan  of  separate  treaty 
with  America  again  rejected,  365 ; 
Laurens  brings  same  news  from 
Adams,  365 ;  Franklin  suggests  cer- 
tain concessions,  366,  371 ;  rivalry 
of  Fox  and  Shelburne,  366;  both 
send  emissaries,  366 ;  dealings  of 
Grenville  with  Vergennes  and  Frank- 
lin, 367-370 ;  possibility  that  to  avoid 
prolonging  war  on  Spain's  account, 
the  States  might  treat  separately, 
369 ;  difficulties  over  Grenville's 
and  Oswald's  commissions,  371 ;  re- 
tirement of  Fox  and  Grenville  from 
Shelburne  ministry,  372 ;  Oswald 
resumes  negotiation,  372 ;  debate 
over  form  of  his  commission,  373- 
317  ;  Jay  and  Adams  overrule  Frank- 
lin, 374  ;  their  suspicions  of  French 
friendliness,  374-376  ;  Jay  persuades 
Shelburne  to  yield  his  objections, 
376 ;  negotiations  resumed,  377 ; 
draft  agreed  upon  but  rejected  by 
English,  377  ;  difficulties  of  Amer- 
ican commissioners  on  account  of 
their  instructions,  377,  378 ;  Adams 


INDEX 


443 


and  Jay  again  overrule  Franklin  and 
determine  not  to  follow  French  ad- 
vice, 379  ;  boundaries  agreed  upon, 
380;  fisheries,  380;  responsibility 
of  Franklin  for  dispute  over  indem- 
nification of  Tories,  380 ;  a  dead- 
lock 381  ;  counter-claims  suggested 
by  Franklin,  381,  382;  Shelburne 
yields,  382 ;  provisional  articles 
signed,  383 ;  condemnation  of  treaty 
in  England,  383 ;  real  success  of 
Americans,  384 ;  anger  of  Ver- 
gennes,  384,  385,  387;  Franklin's 
reply,  386 ;  condemnation  in  Amer- 
ica, 388 ;  justification  of  Adams  and 
Jay,  391,  392,  396. 

Truxton,  Commodore,  401. 

Turgot,  opposes  France's  aiding  colo- 
nies, 227,  228 ;  on  French  poverty, 
319. 

University  of  Pennsylvania,  founded 
by  Franklin,  37. 

Vaughan,  Benjamin,  sent  by  Shel- 
burne to  Paris,  372 ;  carries  Jay's 
message  to  Shelburne,  376 ;  fears 
failure  of  treaty  over  royalist  in- 
demnity, 381. 

Vergennes,  Comte  de,  predicts  Amer- 
ican independence,  83  ;  favors  policy 
of  aiding  colonies  to  weaken  Eng- 
land, 227 ;  gets  control  of  king's 
foreign  policy,  229 ;  establishes 
Beaumarchais  as  Hortalez  &  Co., 
229  ;  maintains  outward  neutrality, 
230, 231  ;  avoids  a  quarrel  on  Frank- 
lin's account  with  English  ambassa- 
dors, 234 ;  meets  the  commissioners, 
237 ;  tries  to  suppress  license  of 
colonial  privateers,  250,  251 ;  self- 
interest  of  his  policy  toward  Amer- 
ica, 252 ;  secret  interview  with  en- 
voys, 274 ;  liberal  dealings  with 
States,  285 ;  keeps  departure  of 
Gerard  and  Deane  secret,  290  ;  sus- 
pects Lee's  secretary  of  being  a 
spy,  290 ;  dislike  for  Lee,  291  ;  com- 
plains of  exorbitant  financial  de- 
mands, 325,  328,  333;  appealed  to 
by  Morris  to  help  American  credit 
in  Spain,  331 ;  confidence  in  Frank- 
lin, 345 ;  antipathy  to  Adams,  350  ; 
angry  at  proposal  to  scale  American 
paper  money,  350 ;  insists  that 
French  creditors  be  spared,  351 ; 
appeals  to  Franklin  against  Adams, 
352  ;  advises  against  answering  "  De 
Weissenstein,"  359;  trusted  by 
Franklin,  302,  378  ;  refuses  to  treat 
with  England  apart  from  United 
States,  304;  amused  at  Grenville's 
proposal,  368 ;  puzzled  at  discord 
between  Grenville  and  Oswald,  370  ; 


advises  commissioners  not  to  quib- 
ble over  wording  of  Oswald's  com- 
mission, 373 ;  suspected  by  Jay, 
373,  375  ;  succeeds  in  having  Ameri- 
can ultimatum  reduced  to  independ- 
ence, 378 ;  and  commissioners  in- 
structed to  follow  his  advice,  378 ; 
suspected  by  Adams,  379  ;  praises 
success  of  treaty,  383  ;  informed  of 
the  conclusion  of  preliminary  arti- 
cles, 384 ;  angry  note  to  Franklin, 
385 ;  to  Luzerne,  387  ;  personal  re- 
gard for  Franklin,  387,  393,  398 ; 
apparent  generosity,  393-396. 

"  Virtual  "  representation  of  the  col- 
onies in  Parliament,  129;  Pitt's 
opinion,  117  ;  Franklin's,  129. 

Voltaire,  relations  with  Franklin,  288, 
289. 

Walpole,  Horace,  remarks  on  Frank- 
lin's voyage  to  France,  232  ;  receives 
private  news  of  French  and  Amer- 
ican alliance,  281. 

Walpole,  Robert,  said  to  have  planned 
a  stamp  tax,  104. 

Walpole,  Thomas,  astonished  at 
Franklin's  proposed  memorial  to 
Dartmouth,  200  ;  advises  Franklin 
not  to  present  it,  but  to  leave  Eng- 
land, 201,  202  ;  receives  private  news 
of  French  and  American  alliance,  281. 

Washington,  George,  mentioned,  206, 
209,  267,  298,  307,  328,  344,  358,  ha- 
rassed by  foreign  military  adven- 
turers, 242  ;  relieved  by  Franklin, 
245 ;  comparison  of  services  with 
those  of  Franklin,  308, 339,  404,  407  ; 
supported  for  president  by  Frank- 
lin, 412. 

Wedderburn,  Alexander,  solicitor-gen- 
eral and  counsel  for  Hutchinson  and 
Oliver,  186  ;  bitter  attack  on  Frank- 
lin before  Privy  Council,  188,  189. 

West,  the,  its  expansion  foreseen  by 
Franklin,  57,  83,  84. 

West  India  Islands,  suggested  as  mem- 
bers of  Confederation  by  Franklin, 
208. 

Whately,  Thomas,  denies  knowledge 
of  Hutchinson  letters,  181  ;  refuses 
to  exculpate  Temple,  181 ;  quarrel 
and  duel,  182  ;  exculpated  by  Frank- 
lin, 182  ;  sues  him,  187. 

Whately,  William,  recipient  of  Hutch- 
inson letters,  as  secretary  of  Gren- 
ville, 180. 

Whitehead, ,  deceived  by  a  satire 

of  Franklin,  135,  136. 

Wickes,  ,  colonial  privateer,  248. 

Williams,  Jonathan,  rank  as  diplo- 
mate,  220  ;  appointed  naval  agent 
by  Franklin,  264 ;  accused  of  dis- 
honesty   by    the    Lees,    265 ;    dis- 


444 


INDEX 


missed,    266;    ill-treated    by    Con- 
gress, 266. 
Wyndham,  Sir  William,  wishes  Frank- 
lin to  open  a  swimming-school  in 
London.  10. 


Tale  College  makes  Franklin  Master 

of  Arts,  43. 
Yorke,     Charles,     solicitor  -  general, 

counsel  for  Penn  family,  68. 


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